Girls Like You
by MissMicheleAgron
Summary: Why do bullies bully? Quinn, Kitty, and Cassandra all did it for the same reasons. Karley and Faberry. Also lots of Cassandra July because, well, I love her. I suck at summaries, I promise the fic will be better than the summary so just read :
1. Chapter 1

_Hell. I'm in hell._

Rachel panted as the music came to a stop. She wiped her forehead and took a sip of water as Cassandra July's slender frame came closer.

"Did I tell you that you could have a drink of water Little Miss David Schwimmer?" Cassandra asked. Rachel shook her head no and quickly set the water bottle down on the floor next to her dance bag. The teacher swiftly kicked the water bottle across the dance floor with the toe of her black heels. She flipped her blonde hair and looked straight down into Rachel's eyes. Rachel's lips quivered as she looked up at Cassandra in fear. "You sure aren't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy." Cassandra said snottily, her face only inches from Rachel's. Rachel could smell the alcohol on the blonde's breath and she cringed. Cassandra rolled her eyes and walked away from Rachel. "Class dismissed!" she said.

The class cleared out one by one until only Rachel and Cassandra were left in the large room. Rachel looked at herself in the wide mirrors; she watched as the tears finally poured from her eyes and streamed down her face. Cassandra caught Rachel's tears from across the room and laughed. "Do you really think that crying is going to make me go easier on you?" She said sarcastically empathetic.

Rachel shook her head and turned to face her teacher. "No," she said, "but I thought maybe it'd make you realize that I'm only human. I'm only a girl with a dream in a big scary city with no friends."

Cassandra strutted up to Rachel sloppily and put one hand on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel shook the hand off her shoulder. Cassandra scoffed. "You don't get it do you?" She said, "I see girls like you every day. I eat girls like you for breakfast; I will chew you up, and then spit you out in front of all your peers to set an example. Usually I do feel sorry for the first poor unfortunate student who happens to rub me the wrong way, but you're making it way too easy for me to pick on you."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Rachel yelled out.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow and smirked down at the little brunette. "Oh, a feisty one aren't you?" she said.

"Answer me." Rachel demanded.

Cassandra looked down at Rachel and gritted her teeth. "Fine." She spat, "I don't like the way you look. I don't like your big stupid nose or your perfect cheek bones. I don't like the way you act; the whole innocent small town girl routine is way overdone. I don't like your ambition or your attitude. I think you squeaked your way past Carmen Tibideux to get into this school but you aren't getting past me. It has been my personal vendetta since day one to get you the hell out of my classroom."

* * *

"Mr. Schuester, you have got to be kidding me!" Marley said, frustrated as she paced around the classroom.

"Marley," Will said calmly, "Kitty asked me to audition, and I let her because we are the one club on campus who will take anyone regardless of their popularity in this school. And to be honest, she nailed that audition."

"But you don't understand!" Marley argued, "She has made my life a living hell since I started at this school! Her and her jock boyfriends torture my mother, its harassment and that shouldn't be stood for!"

"I agree," Will said, "and I will have a talk with Kitty about the way she's been treating you and your mother. I will even take it to Principal Figgans if I have to but for now she's in the Glee club because she auditioned and, well, fair is fair."

Marley rolled her eyes and walked out of Will's office, only to be hit with a cold purple slushie in face.

Kitty giggled as Marley wiped the dye and ice out of her eyes. "What is your problem with me?!" Marley yelled at Kitty.

Kitty smirked. "Oh I could write a book about my problems with you." The blonde said, "Your thrift store Wal-Mart wanna-be hipster schoolgirl wardrobe pisses me off. The food that your whale of a mother serves in the cafeteria is so greasy that the boys on the football team have considered reenacting Greased Lighting during lunch. Obviously, your mom would be the car. Now, I'm sure she's a single parent because no man would ever want to sleep with that more than once; and any man who would even have a one night stand with her would have to be seriously disturbed, which would explain why you're so weird. I have to ask, does she have to reuse her hairnets because your family is so broke?"

Marley's eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away quickly with the sleeve of her Wal-Mart sweater.

"Aw, poor innocent little Marley Rose is going to cry now." Kitty said sassily, "Well, get used to it loser. I'm going to make your life a living hell until you walk across that stage at graduation."

* * *

"Hi mom." Marley said halfheartedly as she opened the door of her mother's old 90's Toyota.

"Hey sweetheart!" Her mother said. "What's wrong? You aren't your smiley peachy little self as usual! I thought you were excited to be in glee club today, what happened?"

Marley sighed as she seat belted herself into the passenger's seat. "There's just this girl at school, she's really been picking on me lately."

"Who?" Her mother asked her, concerned. "I'll talk to Principal Figgans if I have to. Nobody needs to pick on you, Marley."

"No," Marley said and looked down at her hands, "I think she's just a stupid stuck up cheerleader. All she cares about is herself. I just don't know why she's singling me out."

"Why don't you ask her?" Her mother asked, "She's got to have a reason."

"I did ask her!" Marley said frustrated, "She said she could write a book on the reasons she doesn't like me, when I've never said one bad thing about her!"

Marley's mother sighed. "High school is a tough time, kiddo." She said, "But it's not just a hard time for you. It's hard for everyone, even the cheerleaders. I just want you to do what I raised you to do and be as compassionate and understanding with her as you are to everyone else; because you don't know what she could be going through right now."

* * *

"You think this is hard?!" Sue screamed into the mega phone, "I just had another human come out of my vagina a few months ago, now THAT'S hard!"

The Cheerios panted and sweated as they finished their seventeenth lap around the track, when one of them passed out from heat exhaustion and Sue finally dismissed the girls.

"Hey Brittany," Kitty said quietly as they walked quickly to the locker room, "can I ask you something."

"No." Brittany said plainly, not even looking at Kitty.

"But, w-why?" Kitty stuttered.

"Because," Brittany said, "the way you look makes me want to hug you, but the way you act makes me want to lock you in a closet somewhere and feed the key to Lord Tubbington. I don't enjoy feeling conflicted, so I've just decided to stop looking at you. You're like that lady with the snakes for hair; I don't want to turn into stone."

"Please!" Kitty begged and stepped in front of Brittany, "This is important!"

"Why would I talk to you after you've been so mean to me?" Brittany said, "You told everyone that the reason I got held back is because I couldn't spell my own name, and that is a lie because Santana taught me how to spell it last year."

"I know, I know." Kitty said, "I've been a bitch and I'm really sorry. I'll tell everyone I lied about you not being able to spell your name. I'll also take down that Facebook page I made about you sleeping with Stoner Bret."

"Oh no," Brittany said, "that rumor actually is true; don't worry about taking that page down."

"Okay, so will you help me?" Kitty asked desperately.

Brittany stopped walking and thought about it for a second. "I guess so," she said, "but only because you kind of remind me of Quinn and because I kind of want to see your boobs."

Kitty shook her head, slightly disturbed. "Okay, whatever." She said, "Well…I have this problem."

"Oh, is it a toilet problem? Because I'm not a plumber." Brittany said.

"No!" Kitty yelled, "It's not a toilet problem! It's a gay problem!"

"Why is gay a problem?" Brittany asked seriously, "I mean, I'm not totally gay but I'm gay enough to say it's not a problem."

"It's not a problem it's just…" Kitty glanced all around to make sure she wouldn't be heard, "I think I might be."

"Oh!" Brittany said and smiled, "Good for you, Kitty!"

"No," she said, "not good for me. Do you remember what happened to Santana last year when people found out that the head cheerleader was gay?"

"I don't even remember breakfast."

"Everyone knew." Kitty said seriously, "I'm not ready for everyone to know how I feel when I don't even know how I feel. This is the first time I've ever told anyone about this before in my whole life."

"Well, how do you feel?" Brittany asked.

Kitty looked down at the ground. "Miserable." She admitted, "I'm a bitch all the time because I can't admit to anyone who I really am; I can't even admit it to myself."

Brittany frowned. "That's how Santana was." She said, "It makes me a sad little panda when people can't just embrace all the stuff inside them that makes them awesome."

"Are you saying I should embrace it and just tell everyone about it?" Kitty said frantically, "But everyone will look at me differently. I don't want to be different, I want to be perfect."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Haven't you heard the Miley Cyrus song?" She said, "Nobody's perfect."

Kitty thought about it. "I guess you're right." She said and shrugged.

"I'm not saying you should tell everyone that you're gay, I'm just saying you should stop denying it and do what makes you happy. You don't have to write it in the sky with an airplane or send it in a galactic message to aliens; I just think if you have someone special in mind you should share it with them and see where it goes. That's how Santana and I got together. Now, lots and lots of fights and scissoring later we're still together. It's like, we found love in a hopeless place."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Sure, lesbian love in Lima Ohio is definitely love in a hopeless place."

Brittany smiled and nodded. "So," she said, "do you have anyone special in mind?"

Kitty gulped.

* * *

"Hello?"

Rachel sighed in relief as she heard the sweet voice on the other end of the line greet her.

"Quinn." She said. Her voice cracked as she started to choke up. It'd been months since she'd heard from her friend and she didn't realize how much she missed that soft voice until she finally heard it.

"Rachel?" Quinn said frantically, "What's wrong? Are you crying?"

"I'm just so happy to hear your voice." Rachel admitted as she smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "How are you?"

Quinn sighed. "Stop," she said, "Rachel tell me what's going on with you. You don't sound okay."

Rachel's jaw shook and she put her hands over her face. She couldn't cry there in the middle of Central Park. "I'm miserable!" Rachel said as the tears welled up in her eyes, "My dance teacher is a drunk and she's verbally abusive! Half of the girls in my class have already dropped out or stopped eating. I have nobody to talk to, I'm all alone and I don't know what to do with myself! I miss you, I miss everyone! I just want to give up and go home!"

The pain in Rachel's voice broke Quinn's heart. The blonde closed her math book and hopped up from her desk. "Where are you?" She said frantically as she threw on her sweater and a pair of shoes.

"I'm in Central Park, by the fountain." Rachel managed to say through the sobs now wracking her body. She wrapped her free arm around her chest to coddle herself, and took a deep breath.

"Stay where you are," Quinn demanded as she grabbed her purse, "I'll be there in two hours."


	2. Chapter 2

Quinn stepped off the train into Grand Central station around five o'clock that evening. She sprinted through the crowds and out into the street. She decided she'd be faster on foot than she would be in a cab. The blonde pushed and shoved her way down the busy city sidewalks for blocks until she had blisters wearing on her feet from her ballet flats. Forty minutes later and the park finally came into view, Quinn smiled triumphantly; her first time into the city alone and she'd found Central Park without getting lost. She ran the distance to the entrance of the park and began scanning the area for Rachel.

About a hundred feet away Rachel sat in a crumpled mess on a bench. Her hair was sprawled across her face, barely visible behind her little hands covering it. Quinn slowly approached her, but Rachel didn't notice. The blonde tapped her friend on the shoulder; Rachel shot up and looked up at the girl. Quinn pulled Rachel off the bench and into her arms for a tight hug.

Rachel's eyes started to water as she hugged Quinn tighter. "I can't believe you're here." She said.

Quinn didn't realize how much she'd missed feeling those arms around her until they were actually holding her, but soon enough it was over and Rachel pulled away. She looked up into Quinn's hazel eyes sincerely. "I've missed you," she said, "more than anyone else."

"I've missed you too," Quinn admitted, "I didn't realize how much I really missed you until I saw your face."

Rachel smiled contently and threw her arms back around Quinn's neck. Quinn felt eyes on her back as she held Rachel; their PDA would probably go unnoticed in a city like New York, but Quinn wasn't taking any chances.

"Do you want to go to your dorm and talk about how you're feeling?" Quinn asked as she pulled away from the hug.

Rachel shook her head. "No," she said, "my roommate probably has company, like always."

"She gets around, I'm assuming?" Quinn said jokingly.

"You have no idea." Rachel chuckled.

"So she's a Santana?" Quinn said.

"Worse."

Quinn's eyes widened. "Worse than Santana?" she said, "Is that even humanly possible?"

"Oh, it is." Rachel said and laughed.

"Well maybe you need to find a new roommate." Quinn said suggestively.

Rachel sighed. "I wish it was that easy, but I don't really know anyone. I'd love it if I had a roommate as cool as you." Rachel hinted, "NYADA is taking applications for next semester right now, you know."

Quinn shook her head. "No," she said, "that's not me; I'd never get in. They only take the best of the best, and Rachel you are exceptional."

Rachel blushed and smiled bashfully. "Well thank you Quinn, but that doesn't mean that you aren't exceptional too." She said, "I can't remember any time that your singing didn't leave me with the chills. You're really, really good. Don't doubt yourself."

Quinn looked at Rachel seriously. "Do you mean it?" She asked, slightly stunned at the girls confidence in her skills.

"Absolutely." Rachel said surely.

Quinn nodded and considered it. "Maybe I will apply," she said, "it wouldn't hurt me. The worst that could happen is I could be stuck at Yale, and that's not a bad alternative."

Rachel giggled. "Not bad at all." She said.

Quinn sighed contently, put an arm around Rachel's shoulders and began walking back towards the entrance of the park. "So where too, my little star?" She asked.

Rachel smiled and looked up at the girl. "I have an idea." Rachel ducked under Quinn's arm and grabbed her hand. She led the blonde a few blocks away to a coffee shop on a corner across from an old Italian delicatessen. The hand-painted greeting on the door said "New York's Best! Bagels, doughnuts, coffee, and more!"

The little bell on the door jingled as Rachel enthusiastically held the door open for Quinn. It smelled like heaven; the scents of freshly ground coffee, sugar, and freshly baked bread intertwined and made their way to Quinn's nose, making her mouth water.

The little brunette bounced up to the counter where a small Italian girl no older than 13 was refreshing the coffee mugs in front of a few old men. "Hi Rachel!" the girl said ecstatically. She set down the coffee pot, made her way around the counter, and awkwardly hugged Rachel with her long gangly arms.

"Hi Sally!" Rachel said and hugged the girl back lovingly, "There's someone I want you to meet." She stepped back from the girl and gestured to Quinn. "This is my best friend from Ohio, her name's Quinn."

Sally gave Quinn a toothy grin. "Hi Quinn!" She said then looked at Rachel, "Is this the one you were telling me about?" she asked.

Rachel blushed. "Yeah," she said, "that's her."

Quinn smiled and nudged Rachel. "All good things, right Sally?" she joked.

Sally nodded and smiled. "Oh yeah, very good things."

Quinn raised an eyebrow at Rachel whose eyes shot down to the floor. "I think Rachel and I are going to sit down and have a talk now, Sally," Quinn said, "but I'd love to try some of that coffee of yours."

* * *

"No!" Mr. Schue said frustrated as Brad stopped the music. "It's hop on four, slide on five Kitty!"

"I'm sorry," Kitty said snottily, "it's hard to learn choreography when I'm constantly tripping over spawn of lunch lady's feet!"

"Maybe you wouldn't trip over my feet if you'd stop leaning over to whisper into my ear about how terrible I am, dragon-lady!" Marley yelled back.

"I blame Blaine for all this." Brittany added.

"What?" Blaine said and shot Brittany a dirty look.

"I don't like your pants." Brittany said threateningly.

"Enough!" Will yelled, "Everyone needs to stop the bickering, it's getting us nowhere!"

Marley nodded. "I agree," she said, "and as the new Rachel I say we come up with a solution."

Tina, Brittany, Blaine, and Unique's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "What do you mean as the new Rachel?" Blaine said skeptically.

Marley looked around shyly but sternly. "Everyone keeps comparing me to her," she said, "so I thought I'd live up to the expectations and take control. We all need to get along for this awesome thing we have going to work."

"Agreed." Mr. Schuester said, "For starters, we have some obvious rivalries going on here that need to be killed off now. Brittany and Blaine, Kitty and Marley; I want you four to pair up and each come up with a number for sectionals and learn to get past your differences and get along. Understood?"

"But Mr. Schue-" Kitty began, but Marley interrupted her.

"Understood." She agreed, and shot Kitty a harsh look.

"Good." He said and looked to Blaine and Brittany.

"Fine." Blaine said before pouting and walking off stage.

"I won't take this standing." Brittany said. She promptly plopped to the ground and sat. "But I have no objections from down here."

"Alright," Mr. Schue said, "in that case class is dismissed. I'll see you all tomorrow, and hopefully on better terms."

The kids slowly exited the theater as the bell rang, ending the school day. Marley stayed behind with Brad to practice a few ideas she had for a new number. From the other side of the stage, someone cleared their throat. Marley looked up from her sheet music to see Kitty standing shyly at the edge of the stage.

The blonde looked up at Marley intently. "Can I talk to you?"

* * *

"So she just came right up to you and told you she has a crush on you?"

"Yes!" Marley said frustrated as she paced the floor in front of her mother; the large, sweet woman sat patiently on the couch in front of her daughter in their modest Lima apartment.

"Well what'd you say to her, sweetie?" Her mother asked.

Marley groaned and plopped down onto the couch next to the woman. "I just kind of stuttered and then ran away."

"Hm." Her mother thought, "That probably wasn't the best way to handle it."

"Of course it wasn't!" Marley said and buried her face in her hands, "What was I supposed to say to her after that?!"

"Well," the woman said and looked at her daughter seriously, "how did you feel about her telling you that she likes you? Did it make you uncomfortable? Happy? Mad?"

Marley thought for a moment. "Confused!" she finally said.

Her mother tilted her head and looked at her knowingly. "Confused, huh?" She said, "Marley, be honest with me. I just want to be there for you."

Marley sighed. "But I really was confused! I don't know what to do, mommy!" Marley said frantically as her eyes started to water. She buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

The woman patted her daughters back comfortingly and shushed her. "Kiddo," she began, "I think you're just scared to admit what we both already know."

Marley's head popped up from her mother's shoulder. She looked at the woman seriously. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Come on, Marley." She said and chuckled, "I've known you like girls since you left your diary open on your desk in the fifth grade; you wrote about that girl you kissed at summer camp and how it made you feel all tingly and special."

Marley gasped. "You read my diary?!"

"Never mind that," her mother said, "what I'm trying to say is you are special. And I will support you no matter what special decisions you make in your life."

Marley looked down at the floor and really thought about how she felt. When Kitty told her that she had a crush on her, it did make her feel all tingly and special again. "I think that I need to think about what I want to do." Marley said quietly.

Her mother smiled and stood from the couch. "Well," she said, "you can go ahead and take as long as you need to figure that out. I, on the other hand, have to go cook dinner. How's about you go up to your room, listen to your music and do some thinking. I'll leave a plate in the fridge for you."

The tiny girl smiled up at her mother who smiled back. Marley truly felt like the luckiest girl in the world as she looked at the wonderful woman standing before her. "I love you mom." She said.

"I love you too, Marley."

* * *

"Sex or bacon," Brittany said surely as she scribbled down notes with her pink gel pen, "that's how I win over Santana when we fight. It's pure genius, never fails me."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I like the sex idea, but I don't think Marley's much of a bacon person." She said, "Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well she'd react to me pinning her to the lockers in the middle of the school."

"Hot."

"Shut up." Kitty said angrily as she scratched out all the ideas on her list of 'Ways to Swoon Marley Rose.'

"That's it," Brittany said finally and pulled out her phone, "we need Quinn's help."

"What?" Kitty said, "Isn't she the one who was pregnant and paraplegic and kind of insane?"

"Yes." Brittany said nonchalantly as she dialed the number.

"Why are we calling her?!" Kitty asked frustrated.

"Well," Brittany began as the phone started to ring, "she knows how to win over the ladies after she torments them. Last year she was sleeping with our friend Rachel, or at least I think she was. She was always staring at Rachel like she wanted to rip all of their clothes off and cuddle so I think I'm probably right."

* * *

"It's Brittany." Quinn said and groaned.

Rachel smiled. "Well answer it then!"

"No," Quinn said, "last time she called me she just started telling me what kind of Chinese food she wanted, and then when I tried to explain to her that I wasn't a Chinese take-out place she decided it was necessary to talk louder and use a slightly racist Asian accent."

Rachel giggled. "Sounds like Brittany."

Quinn hit the ignore button and took another sip of her coffee. "This is the best coffee I've ever had in my entire life." She said surely between sips.

Rachel beamed in satisfaction. "I knew you'd love it." She said, "I think part of it is the atmosphere. It makes me feel like I'm in the Lima Bean back home."

"It is kind of like that, isn't it?" Quinn said. "How'd you find this place anyway?"

"It's a funny story actually," Rachel explained, "it was my first day in the city and I was roaming around like an idiot. All of the sudden it got really chilly outside, so I decided to come in for a quick cup of coffee and to glance at a map to figure out how to get back to NYADA. I didn't know I'd end up staying as long as I did, but I met little Sally. I was surprised that someone so young was running a café all by herself, so I asked her where the adults were. She told me that her parents were off at their other jobs, and that she was an only child left here to run the small café by herself. We talked a little bit more about her family until she asked me what I was doing in the city. I told her that I was a musical theater major at NYADA and she was so excited. She told me that she wants to be on Broadway, but she can't because she has to help run the café after school so that her and her parents can survive. I told her that I'd help her get on Broadway any way I could and I've been back in here every day since. I've given her singing lessons, dance lessons, and acting lessons all here in the café. And she's been improving, I might add! She'll be on Broadway in no time, and then she won't have to work at a silly café forever to provide for her family. She's like a little sister to me, I've always wanted one."

Quinn couldn't help but smile at the beautiful story. "Rachel Berry, you never cease to amaze me."


	3. Chapter 3

"Where to next?" Quinn asked as Rachel led her back out onto the street. She looked around in amazement at the history and the architecture and thought that maybe Rachel was right; maybe she did need to be in the city after all; maybe she was good enough to get into NYADA.

Rachel smiled and sighed contently. "Well," she said, "there's this number I've been thinking about trying out. I was wondering if you'd help me."

"Of course!" Quinn said excitedly, "Whatever you want to try, I'm here for experimenting!" She mentally cringed at her choice of words but Rachel didn't seem to notice.

"Great!" The little brunette said. They walked for blocks and blocks until they finally reached NYADA. The massive set of buildings was vacant and lifeless. Rachel slowly and cautiously led the way through the school until they reached the dark dance class. The door was unlocked so Rachel carefully peeked in.

"Are we supposed to be here?" Quinn asked nervously.

"The facilities are open to students at all times," Rachel explained quietly, "I'm just looking out for _h_er."

"Oh." Quinn said understandingly. She followed the tiny brunette into the dark room. Rachel quickly flipped on the lights and shut the door behind them.

"So what were you thinking for this number?" Quinn asked.

Rachel smiled eagerly. "I was thinking something fun and a little bit sexy," she explained, "I thought maybe a mix of Killer Queen by Queen and Ladykiller by Maroon 5." Quinn chuckled, and Rachel frowned. "What's so funny?" she asked, feeling a bit self-conscience about her idea.

"Rachel, do you even know what the song Ladykiller is about?" Quinn asked skeptically.

Rachel huffed. "Of course I do!" she said, "And I know it's a bit controversial and unexpected, but it's just for fun!"

"Okay, whatever you say." Quinn giggled and said, "You wanna give this a go?"

Rachel nodded and started singing.

"_She keeps Moet et Chandon in her pretty cabinet_

_'Let them eat cake' she says just like Marie Antoinette."_

Quinn winked and joined in next with the Maroon 5 song.

"_Baby it's not alright, the second that you turn your back she'll be outta sight_

_Baby she'll break your heart, the second that you spend the night apart."_

"_Caviar and cigarettes well versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice._

_She's a Killer Queen"_

Rachel walked towards Quinn slowly, never taking her big brown eyes off the girl. Quinn gulped nervously and kept singing, avoiding Rachel's needy eyes.

"_She's in it just to win it, don't trust her for a minute._

_Ooooh. It's like a cheap thriller, she's such a ladykiller."_

"_Anytime."_

"_To avoid complications, she never kept the same address."_

"_Baby she'll eat you alive, as soon as she smells your blood in the water."_

"_Met a man from China, went down to Geisha Minah."_

"_You better run to survive, before she makes you her latest slaughter."_

"_Perfume came naturally from Paris, for cars she couldn't care less."_

"_I think that girl's insane."_

"_Drop of a hat she's as willing as, playful as a pussy cat."_

"_How could you do it? Oh she knows I love you still, you're just her latest kill."_

"_She'll absolutely drive you wild. She's all out to get you."_

"_Recommended at the price, insatiable an appetite, wanna try?"_

"_She's such a ladykiller."_

The girls ended breathlessly. Rachel ran her fingers through her own tangled hair and took a deep breath. "That was…" she said with bated breath, "that was good."

"Yeah it was." A voice said from the doorway. Both Rachel and Quinn jumped and turned to face her. Quinn's jaw dropped and Rachel gasped.

"Oh dear god." The brunette said and hid her face in her hands. Cassandra leaned sassily against the door frame and smirked at the girls cynically.

"Well hello there, Schwimmer!" she said as Rachel looked up in terror, "You know I wasn't even planning on being back here today but I just happened to be walking down the street in front of the school, when all of the sudden I see none other than the God-almighty Schwimmer strutting passed the window of my classroom. And what's with Barbie over here?" Cassandra asked and gestured towards Quinn, "She's hot, Schwimmer, are you hitting that? I kind of figured you play for the home team, the way you awkwardly undress all the other girls in class with your eyes."

"Why are you such a bitch to her?!" Quinn finally said.

Cassandra chuckled and cocked an eyebrow angrily. "Excuse me, Barbie?" she said snottily.

"You heard me!" Quinn said and took a step towards the other blonde, "I want to know what your problem is! Rachel is a phenomenal student; she gives 200% in everything she does and she sings better than Streisand even on her worst days!"

"Quinn, stop." Rachel whispered and grabbed Quinn's shoulder.

"No!" Quinn said and shrugged Rachel's hand off.

Cassandra strode up to Quinn and looked right down into her eyes. "Get out of here Schwimmer; I need to talk to Barbie." She said to Rachel, her eyes never leaving Quinn's.

Rachel looked at Quinn, then at Cassandra, then back to Quinn. "Don't do anything stupid." Rachel said and walked out, shutting the doors behind her.

Cassandra glared at Quinn, but Quinn didn't flinch. "Are you going to answer me now?" She asked.

The teacher chuckled. "You already know the answer." Cassandra said. She threw her hands up in the air and smirked as she sat on the ground. "You know exactly why I'm picking on Schwimmer; you just don't know you know it."

Quinn looked down at Cassandra skeptically. "What do you mean?"

Cassandra leered. "You're in love with Rachel."

* * *

"Brittany," Kitty said nervously as they walked into the choir room followed by a group of Cheerios, "this isn't going to work."

"Yes it is," Brittany said confidently, "Marley is going to love it. She won't be able to resist your sweet moves and sexy lady curves."

"What about everyone else?" Kitty said quietly.

"Everyone else is going to love it too." Brittany said and nudged Kitty playfully. "The Cheerios and glee club will accept you no matter what or who you do, just like they accepted me and Santana. You're a unicorn, too."

Kitty looked at Brittany, baffled. "I don't know what that means," she said and smiled, "but I really appreciate your enthusiasm and optimism."

"And…?" Brittany said.

Kitty rolled her eyes and looked up at Brittany. "And I'm sorry I was so mean to you before and tried to take your place as captain of the Cheerios."

Brittany smiled contently. "You are forgiven." She said and patted Kitty on the head, "And someday, you will be captain."

"Thank you." Kitty said sincerely. Brittany opened her arms up for a hug, but Kitty shook her head. "No, we're not there yet."

"Okay," Brittany said, still smiling and not at all discouraged, "go get ready. Marley will be here any minute."

"Okay." Kitty said nervously. She took a deep shaky breath and looked around the room and everything was in place, except the girl. She adjusted her high pony and dropped to the ground to stretch. She stretched and stretched as she waited for Marley to enter the room. One by one the glee club members entered and sat noisily across the room. Kitty's heart sank as the bell rang and Marley was still nowhere in sight.

She stood and paced the floor. Mr. Schuester looked at his watch, at the Cheerios waiting in the corner, then at Kitty. "Would you like to start your number now, Kitty?" He asked and smiled.

"No." Kitty said.

Will looked around the class where everyone was now sitting quiet and expectantly. "We have to start soon."

Kitty looked at the door hopefully. "Can we just wait a few more minutes?" She asked as her eyes started to sting. She couldn't believe she was about to cry there in the middle of the glee club in front of all these people. She couldn't believe that of all the days Marley could have picked to ditch glee club, she had to pick that day.

The blonde practically jumped when she heard the door open behind her. "Sorry I'm late!" Marley said as she ran into the room. A wave of relief rushed over Kitty as she saw the tall brunette plop down into a seat in the front row of chairs. "I got a nice cold slushy facial on the way here and I had to run into the bathroom and change."

"No problem!" Will said and smiled at the girl, "We hadn't even started yet. Kitty, are you ready now?"

Kitty took a deep breath and shook her head yes. She nodded to the Cheerios and to the band; the Cheerios lined up behind her neatly and she gulped.

"So," Kitty started, "lately I haven't been so nice to some of you. Actually, I haven't been nice to any of you. I don't want everyone to keep hating me. When I started high school, I thought pretending to be someone I'm not would make everyone like me; but by pretending to be something I'm not, I've made most of this school hate me. I'm tired of pretending, I want to be myself and I want real friends. I want real friends like you guys. I heard that glee club is a place where everyone is accepted regardless of who they are or what their label is." Kitty looked around at all the friendly faces and took a deep breath. Marley's smile lit the room; she looked at Kitty encouragingly and gave her a thumbs up. "I'm gay." She said. "I never told anyone, until I got into the glee club. Now, I'm ready to shout it out to the whole school. I'm not ready for my parents to know just yet, but for now I just need one place to be myself and I thought this would be the place to start. So, this is a song that's been helping me get through the tough times. It makes me feel like strong, sexy woman, without making other people feel worthless."

All the glee kids smiled as the song began, and Kitty felt strangely confident behind her nervousness.

She smiled as the familiar song started and the Cheerios sprang to life behind her.

"_So I got my boots on, got the right amount of leather, and I'm doing me up with a black colored liner.  
And I'm working my strut but I know it don't matter, all we need in this world is some love."_

The glee kids danced in their seats excitedly, Blaine and Unique lip-synching along.

_"There's a thin line 'tween the dark side, and the light side, baby tonight._  
_It's a struggle, gotta rumble, tryin' to find it."_

Kitty caught Marley smiling ecstatically and watching her every move. Maybe Brittany was right, she thought. To be sure she threw in an extra body roll and watched Marley's eyes grow wider. Brittany was definitely right. Kitty smiled eagerly as she kept singing.

_"__But if I had you,  
That would be the only thing I'd ever need  
Yeah if I had you,  
The money, fame and fortune never could compete  
If I had you,  
Life would be a party, it'd be ecstasy  
Yeah, if I had you  
Y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you  
If I had you."_

The music slowed and the Cheerios dropped to the ground into the splits, accept Brittany and Kitty; Brittany scurried around the piano and grabbed a big bouquet of roses of all different colors. She handed them off to Kitty who slowly walked forward to Marley's seat as she sang.

_"That would be the only thing I'd ever need  
Yeah if I had you."_

She handed the roses to the stunned brunette. Marley looked at the roses in awe, then up at Kitty, then back down at the flowers.

"_The money, fame and fortune never could compete  
If I had you,  
Life would be a party it'd be ecstasy  
Yeah if I had you  
Y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you  
If I had you  
That would be the only thing I'd ever need  
Yeah if I had you,  
The money, fame and fortune never could compete  
If I had you, life would be a party, it'd be ecstasy  
Yeah if I had you  
Y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you  
If I had you."_

The whole class stood and applauded. Marley jumped up, roses in hand, and ran across the room to Kitty. She wrapped her arms around the smaller blonde and smiled grandly. Kitty broke away from the hug after a few long seconds and grabbed Marley's hand, holding it up in the air in hers like the winner of a prize fight. The kids cheered even louder, and the Cheerios slowly left the room.

"Well," Kitty asked Marley anxiously, "what'd you think of my song?"

Marley shook her head and threw her arms back around Kitty. "I loved it!"

* * *

"She sang to you?!"

"Yes!" Marley said dreamily as she skipped around the school cafeteria kitchen.

Her mother smiled proudly at her. "You like her too, don't you?"

Marley blushed and glanced down at her shoes. "Well, I don't know yet." She said, "I loved the song, and the flowers are beautiful, but I just don't know that I'm ready to give my heart up that easily to someone who hated my guts only last week."

"Understandable," her mother said as she grated a block of cheese carefully, "but don't be too careful with your heart, sweetie. Don't wanna end up like me, do you?"

Marley frowned. "What's so wrong with ending up like you?" She asked, "I think you're an amazing role model!"

Her mother smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

"Well," Marley said as she grabbed her backpack off the counter, "I don't want to distract you from your work too much, and the Cheerios have practice right now…I think I'm going to go watch them."

The big woman smirked suspiciously at her daughter. "You're gonna go watch them, huh?" She said and chuckled.

Marley blushed again. "Mom…" She whined.

"Okay, okay," her mother said, "I won't tease you anymore."

"Thanks, mom." Marley said and hugged her mother one last time before she left. She started walking towards the door but her mother stopped her.

"Hey Marley?" She said.

"Yeah mom?" Marley said and spun around in the doorway.

Her mother stalled for a second nervously, "I'd love to meet her."

* * *

"My infant child can move better than you girls!" Coach Sylvester yelled into her megaphone, "Practice is over! Hit the showers ladies, because you stink of failure!"

Kitty grabbed her water bottle off the gym floor and chugged the remainder of the water before running to the fountain to fill it up again. Marley slowly stepped down from the bleachers and stood beside the fountain.

"Hey." Marley said quietly.

Kitty looked up at the tall, sweet girl and her heart skipped a beat. "Hi." She said breathlessly.

"Um, I was just…" Marley tried to explain nervously, "My mom was busy so, I- I wanted to come watch you practice. I hope that's okay."

Kitty smiled sincerely, rather than her usual snarky smirk. "Yeah, of course." She said.

"So, I was wondering…" Marley began, "Are you doing anything after this?"

Kitty sighed, "No," She said, "just walking home. I'll probably just do homework and go to bed. Practice really kicked my ass today."

Marley smiled sheepishly. "Can I walk you home?" she asked.

Kitty felt her breath hitch and her heart beat faster than she'd ever felt it. "Yeah." She said shyly, "I'd love that."

"Okay." Marley said and laughed nervously.

"Let me just go get changed and I'll be right out." Kitty said and walked into the locker room. Just as she walked in, Brittany walked out.

Brittany saw Marley and smiled cheerily. The blonde Cheerio approached her and stood directly in front of her and just smiled.

She stood there for an uncomfortably long time, just smiling. Marley couldn't help but smile back at the girl, but she felt awkward. "What's up, Brittany?" Marley asked.

Brittany looked up at the gym ceiling and frowned. "Not much; just a lot of lights and some streamers leftover from prom."

Marley tilted her head. "No, Brittany. It's just an expression." She said slowly.

"Oh," Brittany said relieved, "that makes much more sense."

"Well…" Marley said and glanced around the empty gym awkwardly.

"So," Brittany said cheerily, "how'd you like Kitty's Adam Lambert performance today? I suggested more glitter and leather and sex slaves like his AMA performance, but Kitty said it was too controversial. Blasphemy."

Marley giggled and shook her head. "It's okay," she said sweetly, "I loved it anyway."

"Good." Brittany said, "She really likes you, you know. I know it's hard to believe because she was so mean to you, but that's how it works. I've seen it before, trust me."

"Really?" Marley asked.

"Yes," Brittany explained, "the last four years I had to watch two of the prettiest girls I've ever met hate each other, when all along they just really liked each other. They didn't know it because they were too busy being mean to each other, I don't want to see that happen to you two. I really miss those girls, so I just…I want to help you guys because you remind me of them." A tear trickled down Brittany's cheek which she quickly wiped away.

"Oh, Brittany." Marley said sympathetically as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

Brittany sobbed into the brunette's shoulder. "I miss them all so much." She said, "Santana, Rachel, Quinn, Kurt."

"I know, I know." Marley said soothingly, "Don't worry, Brittany. It's not forever; you'll see them again soon."

"I really hope so," she said as she calmed her tears and pulled away from the hug, "because it's really hard to make out with a webcam."

Marley giggled and Brittany smiled. "You're really good at being nice." Brittany said, "Maybe you can teach Kitty how to do that."

Marley frowned. "I think she's doing a really good job on her own."

"Well," Brittany said, "can you promise me something?"

"Sure." Marley said honestly.

"Don't hurt her." Brittany said.

"What?" Marley said, confused.

"I might not know where babies come from or how the toaster works, but I know girls. Girls like you look shy and innocent on the outside; you're easy to pick on because you can take it, because you're strong on the inside. Girls like Kitty hate the world because it's easier to hate the world than to hate themselves, and all it takes is one heartbreak to make them even meaner and bitchier than before."

Just then, the locker room door burst open and a smiling Kitty stepped out. She gracefully strode up to the two girls with her cheer bag and backpack in tow. "You ready to go?" she asked Marley.

Marley smiled and nodded, taking Kitty's hand and Brittany's advice with her out of the gym.

* * *

The girls laughed as they rounded the last dark corner onto Kitty's street. "Wait so you and Brittany brainstormed all night just to sweep me off my feet today in glee club?" Marley asked dreamily.

"Well," Kitty said, "I brainstormed. Brittany had an animated conversation with her obese cat about the show Friends."

Marley laughed. "Sounds like an interesting night." She said.

"Yeah well," Kitty began as she stopped in front of her house and took Marley's hands in hers, "hearing the Smelly Cat song a hundred thousand times was well worth seeing your face in glee club today when I handed you those roses."

Marley blushed and she was suddenly thankful for the dark for hiding her bashfulness. "Thank you." She said, "Thank you for everything."

"You're very welcome." Kitty said as she leaned in closer, her lips about to touch Marley's when suddenly the brunette pulled away. "What's wrong?" Kitty asked sadly.

Marley stuttered, "I'm just- it's just- I've never…"

Kitty gasped. "You've never been kissed before?"

"This is when you make fun of me and those jock guys jump out of the bushes to slushy me, right?" Marley asks dejectedly.

"No! It's just-" Kitty began, but Marley cut her off.

"Save your breath Kitty," Marley said and began to walk away, "you don't need to explain I'll just leave. I knew today was too good to be true."

"Wait!" Kitty said desperately and grabbed Marley's hand before she could walk away. Marley looked at Kitty's face, tears just waiting to spill from her eyes. "I was just going to say I think it's a good thing that you haven't had your first kiss, because I want to be your first."

Marley's jaw dropped and she stumbled over her words. "Really?" She finally said.

Kitty nodded and pulled Marley in carefully. "Can I kiss you?"

Marley looked at Kitty's lips and leaned into them before she could answer. It was brief, but it was the most magical feeling either of them had ever felt in their entire life. Marley backed away, smiling goofily. "We kissed." She said playfully.

"Yes," Kitty said, eyes still closed savoring the moment, "yes we did."

"Can we do it again?!" Marley asked eagerly.

Kitty giggled and looked down at the time on her phone. "I'd love to, but I can't guarantee I'd be able to stop." She said honestly, "And you've gotta get home, missy!"

Marley pouted and held her arms open for a hug. Kitty dove into the arms that already felt like home and sighed. "I'm never going to forget today." She said.

"Me neither." Marley said, "Not in a million years."

"I'd better go inside," Kitty said sadly and let go of her girl, "my parents are probably wondering where I'm at."

"Okay," Marley said and slowly began walking away, "can my mom and I pick you up and give you a ride to school tomorrow?"

Kitty smiled shyly, "I'd like that a lot."

"Alright," Marley said as she turned away, "bye."

"Bye." Kitty practically sang. She smiled as she watched Marley walk away and out of sight down the dark street. She lugged her bags up the driveway to her house and began digging for her key in her backpack. She struggled for a moment with the heavy bags, but luckily someone on the other side opened it for her.

"Hi mom!" She said excitedly to the older version of herself.

"Go inside, Kitty." She said dryly. Kitty frowned and obliged, wondering why her mother was being so unenthusiastic. She threw her bags down on the couch and speedily walked into the kitchen.

"I made a new friend today!" She said as she walked through the house, leaving her mother behind in the living room with her father who was acting equally off. She continued telling them about her day, hoping to get them out of their funk. "She's really sweet, her name's Marley. I've kind of been mean to her, but she forgave me. I really like her, and I like hanging out with her. I've never had so much fun just talking to someone!" She returned to the kitchen with a plate full of food; her parents were still silent, staring at her irritably.

"What's wrong?" she asked them, "You're both so quiet, did someone die?"

"Kitty don't play dumb!" Her father yelled, "We saw you kiss that girl outside!"

Kitty's head spun. She felt as if the room were spinning around her, like she was going to be violently sick. "You wha-"

"We want you to leave." Her mother said.

Tears began streaming down Kitty's face. "What do you mean?" she asked desperately, "You're…you're kicking me out? Where am I supposed to go?! I don't have a job or a car…I'm only 16 you can't do this to me! I'm your daughter!"

Her mother and father stared at her sternly. The man stood and shook his head, "Not anymore."


	4. Chapter 4

Quinn was frozen. Cassandra waited impatiently for a response. "How'd you know?" Quinn finally asked quietly.

Cassandra laughed. "Are you kidding me?!" she said, "The way you were looking at her when you were singing! The way you defended her! I hope you have another pair of panties in your purse sweetie, because I'm sure the ones you've got on aren't dry after that duet; which was super-hot, by the way. So does she know yet?"

"No." Quinn said quietly, still frozen in disbelief.

"Good," Cassandra said as she slid into the splits on the floor in front of Quinn, "because I'm going to give you a golden nugget of information- don't ever tell her. It's a bad idea."

"How do you know?!" Quinn said heatedly, "You don't know me! You don't know Rachel! You don't know us!"

"Oh yes I do!" Cassandra said surely, "I know from experience!"

"You're wrong." Quinn said defiantly. Cassandra groaned and stood up, annoyed.

She looked into Quinn's eyes and chuckled. "Trust me, I'm not wrong." She said, "You want to know what's going to happen?" Quinn shook her head as Cassandra began pacing the dance floor. "You're going to spend all of your college years, the best years of your life chasing after her while she's moving on with her life. Sure, you'll be great friends; but that's all you'll ever be to her, a friend. She'll have boyfriends and go out on dates and you'll stay pathetically single; she'll invite you out on double dates and you'll kindly decline because you can't stand the thought of seeing her happy with someone else. Eventually you'll get so tired of it that you'll tell her how you feel and everything will change, and it won't change for the better. Everything between the two of you will feel forced and awkward, your boundaries will be unclear and frustrating, and you'll be so fed up with being friend-zoned that you'll eventually loath her as a friend. You two will grow apart and she'll forget about you, but you'll never forget about her. Sure, you can ignore my advice and stay friends with her…that is if you want to watch her be happy with someone else for the rest of your life while it slowly kills you inside."

"Why are you telling me all this?!" Quinn cried, "Why would you say all these horrible things?! This can't be true; this isn't going to happen to us!"

"YES, it will!" Cassandra yelled, "I know because I lived it!"

Quinn looked at her disbelievingly. Cassandra sighed and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair frustrated before sitting down again. She patted the ground next to her, gesturing for Quinn to join her. Quinn sat and waited for Cassandra to collect her thoughts. After a moment, she began to speak.

"My first year of college, there was this girl." Cassandra said, "She was my roommate. She was gorgeous; long brown hair, and a strong jaw and big nose like Schwimmer. She had the voice of an angel, and got every lead in every musical the school ever offered. She was ambitious and inspiring and I fell in love with her. We were best friends and for the longest time I was too afraid of screwing that up to tell her how I really felt. After so many dates with so many different guys, I couldn't take it anymore. I told her how I felt and she ran off. I never saw her again after that. She dropped out of the school and practically off the face of the earth. I can't even find her on Facebook; I thought everyone had one of those damn things nowadays!" Her eyes started watering as she thought about the past; she wiped the tears away from her cheeks and sniffled. "Now she's god knows where with god knows who because I chased her off. She could have been a huge star if it weren't for me. Now I'm just some YouTube joke. I'm a wreck. I have no friends, no family, nothing. I just have a dance class where I can ruin dreams just like the ones she had."

"Are you crying?" Quinn asked.

Cassandra shook her head. "No," she lied, "it's just these damn allergies."

"You are a mess." Quinn said and watched Cassandra cover her face with her hands and begin to sob.

"I am." She admitted. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Quinn couldn't take seeing someone, even someone as seemingly evil as Cassandra July, cry. She put a hand on the teacher's knee and shushed her soothingly.

"I can't believe I put myself in this situation," she said and gave a watery laugh. "I'm talking to someone I just met fifteen minutes ago about my personal life. I have hit rock bottom."

"Maybe that's what you needed." Quinn told her. "Maybe you need to hit rock bottom to get back up again. It's not too late, you know. You're still young and hot, and that outweighs your crazy any day."

Cassandra laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah I guess that's true." Quinn patted the other blonde on the back reassuringly. "Why are you being so cool to me?" She asked, "Just five minutes ago I was making fun of your girl. You should be kicking my ass right now."

"No," Quinn said calmly, "your story kind of pushed me into the real world. I always thought that when I told Rachel it'd be like a fairytale. I'd sing to her and bring her flowers and she'd realize she's in love with me too; but it's not that simple is it? Things could go way worse, and I don't want to end up like you; no offense."

Cassandra chuckled and wiped the last of her tears away. "None taken."

"I want to help you." Quinn said surely.

Cassandra cocked an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" She asked, baffled, "Why would you help me? How are you going to help me?"

"Oh I'm not going to help you for free," Quinn said, "you're going to help me with something too." Cassandra looked skeptical but Quinn wasn't taking no for an answer. "You're going to help me win over Rachel, and I'm going to help you find your girl."

Cassandra sighed. "I was really hoping to hook up with Schwimmer, but I guess I'll help you if you're going to help me." She said, "But good luck finding her. I've been trying for nearly ten years now. It's no use."

"You'd be amazed at the recourses I have," Quinn said, "just let me give it a shot. Making you happy will make Rachel happy, which will make me happy. Just give me a name to work with."

"Fine," Cassandra said finally, "her name is Shelby Corcoran."


	5. Chapter 5

Quinn couldn't breathe. It felt like a ton of bricks had just been dropped on her chest and she couldn't move. She just looked at Cassandra, wide eyed in shocked silence.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and groaned. "What's wrong now, Barbie?" She asked.

Quinn stumbled over her words, trying to push a competent thought through her throat that was rapidly closing up. "Shelby Corcoran?" She managed to utter.

"Yeah," Cassandra said and shrugged, "that's the name. What's the big deal? You look like a little girl who just got told that Santa isn't real, and then saw her puppy get hit by a car."

"Shelby is Rachel's mom." Quinn blurted out.

Cassandra's jaw dropped. Goosebumps covered her arms as her face turned a pale white. "Excuse me?" she asked quietly, "Did you just say that Schwimmer's mom is Shelby Corcoran?"

Quinn nodded. "Her biological mom." She explained, "Her gay dads wanted a baby, and Shelby was their surrogate."

Cassandra shivered and shook her head. "No," she denied, "this is some sick joke, Shelby can't have a daughter. Her daughter cannot be Rachel."

"I wouldn't lie about something like this," Quinn said, "and you said it yourself, Rachel looks like her. That's the undeniable truth."

"I just thought it was a coincidence," Cassandra said quietly, "I never actually thought they were related, let alone that Schwimmer was her daughter."

Quinn nodded understandingly. "When was the last time you saw her?" She asked.

Cassandra huffed and thought for a moment. "Twelve years." She said nostalgically.

Quinn pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped through a few pictures until she found what she was looking for; a recent picture of Shelby holding Beth on her lap. Quinn smiled at the happy family before looking back up at Cassandra. "Would you like to see her?" She asked.

Cassandra's hands shook as Quinn handed her the phone. As soon as her eyes landed on the familiar but aged face, tears began to stream down her face. "Oh my god," she mumbled as she sobbed, "she hasn't changed a bit. She's just as pretty as I remember." She stared at the picture a few moments more before addressing the other face in the picture. "She has another daughter?" She asked.

"Yeah," Quinn said and looked down at her hands, "that's my daughter, actually."

Cassandra's eyes glanced up from the phone and up to Quinn's face. "She looks just like you, Barbie." She said and smiled, "She's got the same pretty hazel eyes and blonde hair. Her daddy's gonna have to beat the boys off with a stick when she gets older."

Quinn glanced away. "Well, she doesn't really have a daddy." She explained, "My ex-boyfriend's best friend knocked me up when we were sophomores in high school. Neither of us was in a position to take care of a child, and Shelby was there. She wanted a baby so badly because she didn't get the chance to raise Rachel, so when Beth was born Shelby adopted her. Last time I checked Shelby's still doing the whole single parent thing, I don't think she's searching for a man because she's already got everything she ever wanted in Beth."

Cassandra stared down at the picture and traced Shelby's outline with her finger on the screen. "I wish I could see her." She said, "Just once, that's all I need. I just want to hear her voice one last time; I want to hear her tell me she doesn't hate me for how I felt about her."

Quinn sighed and snatched the phone out of Cassandra's hands. She scrolled through it quickly, and then grabbed a pen and a napkin out of her purse. She quickly wrote the numbers she was looking for on the napkin and tossed it into Cassandra's lap as she stood up.

"What's this?" Cassandra asked as she examined the number on the napkin.

"That's Shelby's number." She explained as she walked towards the door, "Don't tell Rachel or anyone else you got it from me. It's all in your hands now, what you do with the number is up to you; but since I'm helping you now, I expect you to help me win over Rachel." And with that Quinn disappeared down the hall, leaving Cassandra with the chance she never thought she'd have.

* * *

"So how'd it go last night?" Marley's mother asked her curiously. Marley bounced around the kitchen making herself a bowl of Lucky Charms. "You don't have your usual groggy, grumpy morning face on."

Marley smiled sweetly and sat at the table beside her mother she loved so dearly. "I walked her home and we talked about stuff." She explained, "I told her we'd pick her up and take her to school this morning, I hope that's okay!"

"Of course!" Her mother said happily, "I told you I wanted to meet her, anyways! So is that all that happened?"

Marley blushed and looked down at her cereal. "No." she admitted quietly.

"Oh come on!" Her mother said playfully, "Tell me!"

"Okay!" Marley said excitedly, "I got my first kiss!"

"But I thought you had your first kiss at summer camp?" Her mother asked, confused.

"Oh, that didn't count." Marley said and rolled her eyes, "It was just a quick peck on the lips on a dare. Last night was my first real kiss!"

"And…?" Her mother urged her.

Marley smiled, "It was perfect."

Her mother beamed and took a sip of her coffee. "That's wonderful, sweetie." She said, "I'm so proud of you."

"For what?" Marley asked as she shoved more cereal into her mouth.

"For being so brave." She said, "For going for something you really want and something you really deserve."

"Thanks mom." She mumbled with her mouth full.

Her mother smiled and patted her on the head as she stood from the table. "I'm gonna go get ready. You should hurry up and do the same if you wanna pick up Kitty on the way."

Marley hopped up from the table and cleared her dishes. She ran into her room and turned on her radio, dancing like a maniac as she got ready. She didn't happen to hear her phone ringing from inside her backpack over the loud music. She threw on her favorite newsboy cap and cutest skirt before slipping on her shoes, grabbing her backpack, and following her mother out the door.

They pulled up to Kitty's house ten minutes later. Marley noticed bags sitting on the sidewalk by the driveway, Kitty slumped over next to them. Her mother stopped the car and Marley jumped out. "Kitty!" She called and ran to the girl.

The blonde looked up, teary eyed and puffy faced. Her lips trembled as she held her arms open to embrace Marley. Marley dove into her arms and surrounded the girl with her love and warmth. "Why are you out here?!" She asked the crying girl, "What's going on?"

Kitty shook and sobbed. "My parents saw us kiss," she cried, "they kicked me out. I've been out here all night. How come you didn't answer my calls?"

Marley's heart sank as she thought about the phone sitting at the bottom of her bag that she hadn't checked in over 24 hours. "I'm so sorry." She said and pulled herself closer to the girl. Kitty buried her face into Marley's shoulder and cried harder. Marley shushed her and ran her fingers through her hair slowly.

Marley's mother didn't waste any time while the girls were comforting each other on the sidewalk. She put Kitty's bags into the trunk of the car one by one, then stormed up to the porch and knocked on the door angrily.

Kitty's tall blonde statuesque mother opened the door. She stood there, looking like an aged super model as she held the door open. "Can I help you?" the woman asked snottily.

Marley's mother shook her head. "What kind of mother are you?" She asked in disbelief. "That is your daughter crying on the sidewalk because of you. What kind of parent puts their ignorant beliefs above the wellbeing of their own child?"

"What kind of mother lets their sixteen year old daughter indulge in sick little fantasies like this and kiss other girls?!" The blonde woman argued.

"It's better than throwing things in people's faces just because they're different." Marley's mother said calmly, unaffected by the other woman's temper.

"Freaks like you need to have things thrown in their faces every once in a while, or things like this happen!" With that, Kitty's mother slammed and locked the door in the other woman's face. Marley's mother sighed and walked back down the driveway slowly.

"Come on, girls." She said to the two girls still crying on the sidewalk, "Let's get you to school."

* * *

Kitty stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed after spending the entire night outside on the cold sidewalk. She wrapped the towel around herself and walked to her locker to find her Cheerios uniform. To her surprise, Marley was waiting there for her.

"I'm not being creepy, I promise." Marley explained and giggled, "I was just on my way to the choir room and I thought I'd wait for you."

"I didn't think you were being creepy," Kitty said and laughed, "and I'm glad you waited for me. Girlfriends are allowed to wait for one another to come out of the shower, right?"

Marley froze and looked at Kitty seriously. "Girlfriends?" She asked quietly.

Kitty mentally kicked herself for the choice of words, but at the same time she was glad she addressed the word. "Yeah," she said nonchalantly, "if that's what you want us to call this thing we have going on."

Marley smiled bashfully. "Of course," she said, "as long as that's what you want, that is."

Kitty flipped her wet blonde hair over her shoulder. "Well then," she said, "girlfriends it is."

Marley smiled confidently and leaned up against the locker. "I like that."

"Me too." Kitty said as she nervously adjusted her towel.

Marley raised an eyebrow at the jumpy girl. "Am I making _the _Kitty nervous?" She asked playfully.

Kitty nodded and blushed. "Just a little," she admitted, "I don't know that I'm ready for you to see me like this yet."

"I understand." Marley said knowingly, "I'll wait for you in the hall."

"Thank you." Kitty said gratefully.

"But before I go, can I try something?" Marley asked shyly.

Kitty gulped. "Sure." She said timidly.

Marley backed the girl into the lockers and pressed her fully-clothed self against Kitty's damp towel. She pressed their lips together as they both slowly closed their eyes. Kitty let her hands settle on Marley's sides gently, sending shivers down the brunette's spine. Marley leaned closer to Kitty, gently tugging at the towel. Suddenly, the locker room door swung open; Marley jumped away from Kitty who simultaneously pulled her towel back into place. Marley grabbed her backpack off the ground and sped out the door, quickly blowing Kitty a kiss.

"I'll wait for you in the hall!" Marley called out over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.

Kitty sighed and leaned back against the lockers, letting her head dangle there for a second. She couldn't manage to clear her now full and spinning mind. She looked at the clock and groaned in frustration; only two minutes before she'd be late to glee club. She threw on her Cheerios uniform quickly, and brushed out her tangled blonde hair before throwing it into a perfectly placed high pony.

Marley kept her word and waited right outside of the locker room doors for Kitty. Kitty grabbed the brunette's hand and laced their fingers together before striding to the choir room.

Inside the choir room it was quiet and sullen. The glee kids were absent. In the center of the room sat Mr. Schue, Ms. Pillsbury, Coach Sylvester, Marley's mother, and Principle Figgans.

"Sit down, ladies." Principle Figgans said surly, "We need to have a talk."


	6. Chapter 6

Cassandra paced the dance floor with her phone in a death grip. Her head spun and stomach churned; what could she possibly say to Shelby if she answered? _"Hey, you don't remember me, and this is crazy, but here's my number, let's make babies." _Cassandra cringed, took another sip of her drink, and shook the stupid pick up line out of her head. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right.

She poured herself another drink, overfilling the glass and spilling it over onto the piano as she hit the call button. The dial tone rung in her already ringing ears as she held the phone up to her ear. She took three deep breaths, steadied her long wobbly legs, and waited.

In her small, modern Lima apartment, Shelby wrestled a fussy Beth into her pajamas. The tiny blonde toddler finally stopped crying and settled into her bed for the night when Shelby's phone rang loudly from her pocket, starting another tantrum. Shelby groaned and left the room, shutting the door behind her to let the little girl wear herself out.

"Hello?" Shelby answered, slightly irritated.

Cassandra cringed at the woman's tone, but lost her breath at her familiar voice. "Hi, Shelby?" she asked, knowing good and well that it was indeed her.

"This is she." Shelby said, "Who is this?"

Cassandra chuckled. "Take a wild guess," she said in a melancholy tone, "you'll never believe me."

Shelby sighed, "I really don't have time for this," she said frustrated, "I've got a screaming toddler in the other room and I really need to-"

"It's Cassie." Cassandra said quickly. Shelby was silent on the other end, her throat closing up slowly. Cassandra wasn't sure if she was in shock or if she just didn't remember her. "You know, Cassandra July?"

Shelby's throat choked up even more. Her eyes started watering as she laughed nervously. "Hi Cassie," she said genuinely, "it's good to hear from you."

"Really?" Cassandra said surprised, "I figured you'd hang up on me as soon as you figured out it was me."

"No!" Shelby said, "Why would I do that?!"

"I don't know," Cassandra said, "the same reason you've been hiding from me for 12 years."

Shelby wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I haven't been hiding from you!" she said, "I've been giving you space."

"Space isn't what I needed and you know it." Cassandra slurred in frustration.

Shelby sighed. "You're drunk aren't you?"

"Yep," Cassandra said, "I have been for 12 years."

"Stop," Shelby said sadly, "don't blame your problems on me leaving. I left so you could pursue your dreams because they were bigger than mine."

"No, yours were bigger than mine!" Cassandra argued, "I didn't need fame or space, I needed you!"

Shelby took a deep breath. "Can we please talk about this when you're sober?" she asked calmly.

"Fine." Cassandra said and pouted.

"You're going to pout now, right?" Shelby said, and couldn't help but smirk.

Cassandra let a small smile slip onto her lips. "You still know me so well."

"12 years later and I still haven't lost my skills." Shelby gloated.

"Impressive." Cassandra said jokingly.

Shelby was quiet for a moment as she absorbed the unexpected conversation. "I miss you, Cassie." She said sadly, "I'd love you to meet my daughter Beth, you'd love her. She's a beautiful blonde just like you."

"I know she is," Cassandra said, "I've seen her."

Shelby raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you've seen her?" She asked, on edge.

"I've had an interesting day," Cassandra explained, "I've been teaching your real daughter for months now and I didn't even know it until about an hour ago."

"Rachel?!" Shelby asked excitedly, "How's she doing?!"

Cassandra laughed. "Well, not so well." She explained, "I've been making her life a living hell since she stepped into my class because she reminded me of you. She's just like you; gorgeous, overly ambitious, hot body."

Shelby chuckled. "As flattered, and slightly crept out by that comment as I am, I really have to go." She said as she heard Beth still crying from the other room. "I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to see you, though."

Cassandra halfheartedly smiled. "I'll figure something out."

"Okay." Shelby said hopefully, "But before I go, can I ask you how you got my number?"

Cassandra laughed. "I met a little birdy named Quinn Fabray today." She said, and Shelby flinched at the name, "She was in _my_ classroom demanding to know why I was being so mean to Rachel. To make a long story short, Quinn and Rachel are a lot like you and I at that age if you know what I mean."

Shelby gasped. "Quinn likes Rachel."

Cassandra smiled. "She's head-over-heels in love with her."

* * *

"What's this all about?" Kitty said nervously as she took Marley's hand in hers.

"We heard that you got kicked out of your house last night." Ms. Pillsbury said sweetly, "We've had a student in the past that went through the same thing; we thought it'd be beneficial for you to talk to her."

Kitty and Marley sat down, still holding hands. Principle Figgans chimed in, "As you may know, 90% of the members of glee club are indeed of a homosexual nature, but not all of the school is so accepting. In fact, just last year we had a star football player attempt suicide because he was being bullied for being gay. Before you run wild with your alternative sexualities, please consider all of the consequences."

Will frowned at Figgans' warnings. "More importantly ladies, we want you to know that you have a support system if you ever need it. All of us in this room are willing to help you through anything; if you need to talk, if you need advice, or even if you just need a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on."

The girls nodded knowingly. Marley squeezed Kitty's hand tighter as her mother began to speak. "Kitty," she began, "I know I only officially met you this morning and we didn't really get to talk because you and Marley spent most of the car ride crying but…from all the things I've heard about you, I really think you're a great kid and I think you treat my Marley right. Unfortunately, I don't think I can let you live with us."

"What?!" Marley gasped, "Mom, she has nowhere else to live! What's wrong with you?!"

"Calm down, Marley." Her mother said, "I have a few reasons. First, we can't afford it, sweetie. We barely get by with only two mouths to feed. Secondly, I can't in good conscience let your girlfriend sleep in the same room with you and that's the only space she'd have to stay. Do you understand?"

Marley nodded sadly, and Kitty just sat there frozen in terror. "Where am I going to stay?" She said numbly.

"You can stay with us until we can make other arrangements." Marley's mother said, "I'm really sorry, Kitty."

"She can stay with me." A sweet voice said from the hallway.

Everyone turned around to face the loveable blonde girl. "How long have you been there, Brittany?" Mr. Schuester asked suspiciously.

"I don't know." Brittany admitted, "I thought this was the girl's bathroom, but I was wrong so I just decided to stay because I thought you guys were filming a soap opera in here."

"Do you really want me to stay with you Brittany?" Kitty asked in astonishment.

"Yeah," Brittany said and shrugged, "my parents like it when I have company that they can see."

"Brittany," Will said, "having another person living with you isn't just like having a pet that you can hide under your bed."

"Which I have done by the way," Brittany added, "I don't advice it; terrible mistake."

"Yeah," Will said skeptically, "anyway. This is a long-term thing. Kitty might never be able to move back in with her parents. You and your parents have to be ready for that responsibility."

"Oh yeah, totally." Brittany said confidently, "I mean we took care of a leprechaun for a year, taking care of Kitty will be way easier."

Kitty stood up and walked to Brittany. She hugged the taller blonde tight as she possibly could as the tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Brittany broke away from the hug and looked down at her arms and torso. "Oh my goodness," She said and smiled widely, "I didn't turn into stone! It's a Christmas miracle, Kitty is nice now!"

Marley laughed and stood. "Thank you all," she said to the teachers and Brittany, "thank you so much."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Her mother said as she stood to embrace her.

Will stood and patted Marley on the shoulder. "There is one order of business left to take care of." He said quietly.

"What's that?" Marley asked.

"We need to make a call."

* * *

"So what happened?!" Rachel asked frantically after a long hour outside NYADA for Quinn.

Quinn shuttered and started walking rapidly down the street in no apparent direction. "I'm not sure you want to know."

Rachel rolled her eyes and tried to keep up with the girl, both physically and mentally. "Oh yes I do!" she said frustrated, "You just spent an hour talking to my psychotic dance teacher; she could be dead on the floor up there for all I know!"

Quinn sighed. "Can we please just talk about this somewhere private?" she asked.

"I guess so." Rachel said impatiently.

"Where's your dorm building?" Quinn asked. Rachel pointed at a building down a block and across the street. Quinn started walking even faster towards it, but Rachel protested.

"No way!" she said, "My roommate is probably in there right now sleeping with one or two or maybe three other people!"

Quinn didn't care. She walked into the building, Rachel chasing after her. They rode in the elevator in silence. As soon as the doors opened to Rachel's floor, Quinn stormed out and ran to the room. Two girls and two boys were sprawled out across one of the beds in the dimly lit room. Quinn groaned and flipped the lights on. "Get out." She snapped.

The naked people scattered and protested, grabbing pants and sheets or whatever they could to cover themselves. In all the ruckus, Quinn almost didn't hear her phone ringing in her pocket. "Hello?" she yelled into the receiver.

The voice on the receiver spoke quietly and slowly. Quinn nodded and looked distressed. "I'll see what I can do." She said into the phone. The voice spoke for a few more moments and then Quinn hung up.

"Who was that?!" Rachel asked.

"Mr. Schue." Quinn said.

Rachel tilted her head and frowned. "Why was he calling?" she said, slightly thrown off.

Quinn took a deep breath and sat on the edge of Rachel's perfectly pristine bed. "What do you want to know about first?" She asked, "Mr. Schue or Cassandra?"

Rachel thought for a moment and sat down on the bed beside Quinn. "Cassandra." She said finally.

Quinn sighed. "We talked it out and…she knows Shelby."

Rachel looked as if her entire world had been flipped upside down. "My- my mom?" She stuttered, and Quinn nodded. "B-but how?"

Quinn shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the why. She knew if she went there, she'd have to explain the whole situation and she wasn't ready for that conversation yet. "It's a long story," she said nonchalantly, "they have history and that's all I'm going to say. We argued for a while but then we found some common ground. I gave her Shelby's number, and then told her to fix her shit and stop picking on you."

Rachel shrugged. "Well she already hates me so I guess it can't get any worse, right?"

Quinn nodded. "Sure," she said, sounding unconvincing even to herself, "so do you want to know why Mr. Schue called?" Rachel nodded enthusiastically.

Quinn thought about where she could start, but she was at a loss; so she got right to the point. "Are you up for taking a trip to Lima this weekend?"


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel and Quinn spent the majority of their Friday night in the airport terminal. Rachel dozed off, leaning on Quinn's shoulder as she played Angry Birds. The blonde tapped the smaller girl to wake her for the flight. They boarded the plane and took their seats in the middle class. The girls were surprised to see that their seats were separated by an aisle. Rachel decided to take the empty seat on the other side of Quinn and hoped that nobody would claim the seat. The small brunette cuddled into Quinn's side over the uncomfortable divider between them.

From down the aisle, the girls heard someone causing a disturbance. The owner of the slow slurring voice made her way toward them, stumbling into other passengers along the way.

"Excuse me," she said and cleared her throat, "that's _my_ seat."

Rachel lifted her head to glance up at the disruptive passenger and her jaw dropped. "No way."

Cassandra pushed past Quinn and Rachel, taking a seat on Rachel's other side. "Fine," she slurred, "I'll take this seat."

Rachel turned her face away in disgust as Cassandra's breath hit her face. "You're drunk?!" She whisper-yelled at the wasted blonde, "How could they even let you on the plane like this?!"

"I just had one or two or five drinks at the airport bars before I got on." She explained slowly, "Well, I had five or six drinks actually…at each bar."

Rachel gawked at her drunken teacher and Quinn buried her face in her hands, trying not to laugh. "I can't believe you." Rachel said and looked away.

Cassandra laughed. "Wait," the blonde said, "you can't believe I'd do something like this? I teach drunk. I make margaritas in my place of work, but you thought getting drunk in an airport was beyond me?"

Quinn chuckled, and Rachel shot her a harsh look. "Look, please just lay low." Rachel said, "The last thing we need right now is you causing a scene."

Cassandra huffed. "Whatever you say, mom." She retorted.

Quinn laughed, and Rachel shot her another angry glance. "What?" Quinn said innocently, "She's got a point!"

The flight attendants and captain prepared the plane for take-off, and moments later they were up in the air.

Rachel shook her head in annoyance before turning back to Cassandra. "Why are you on a plane to Ohio anyway?"

Cassandra shrugged. "Visiting an old friend." She said.

"I know you know my mom." Rachel said.

"Oh really?" Cassandra asked and shot Quinn a suspicious look, "What do you know then, Schwimmer?"

"I know you two were good friends before you had a falling out." Rachel said, "I know she's only my biological mother and not my real mom, but I care about her. If you hurt her again, you're going to hear from me."

Cassandra chuckled, without humor. "Trust me Schwimmer," she said, "if anyone's getting hurt here it's not Shelby."

"Okay." Rachel said and yawned, "Well, I'm going to try to catch some sleep before we get to Lima."

"Goodnight, Rach." Quinn said and smiled sweetly at the girl. Rachel smiled back as she put her headphones in and closed her eyes.

An hour later the brunette was peacefully asleep, when her head lolled over towards Cassandra. In her sleepy state she cuddled into the blonde's side and Cassandra cringed. Quinn looked on jealously and Cassandra smirked. "You really love her, don't you?" Cassandra asked, but she already knew the answer. Quinn looked up at the other blonde and nodded. "Yeah, I can tell." Cassandra said, "The way you look at her when she doesn't know your looking. It's the same way I was with Shelby."

Quinn cringed. "Please don't compare us to that," she said, "it's not going to end badly for us. If Rachel doesn't feel the same way, then she'll still be understanding."

Cassandra was silent as she nodded. "You're probably right." She said quietly and chuckled, "Everyone seems to get the girl, except me."

"No," Quinn said and shook her head sadly, "that's not how I should have put it. Your story didn't end badly; it's just not over yet."

Cassandra smiled sweetly and let a tear trickle down her cheek. She looked away, wiping the dampness from her cheek embarrassedly. "Sorry," she apologized, "usually I'm an angry drunk but sometimes the weepy sad drunk creeps out."

Quinn laughed. "Don't worry, I'm the same way."

Cassandra suddenly groaned and held her stomach in pain. She shot up from the seat and pushed past Rachel and Quinn.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked desperately.

"Gonna be sick!" Cassandra said as she ran down the aisle, tripping over passengers and stumbling all the way to the bathroom.

Quinn rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile because she was starting to grow fond of the alcoholic woman she'd only just met. She closed her eyes and tried to drift off into a blissful sleep before all hell broke loose in Lima the next day. Rachel sleepily rolled in her seat towards Quinn, putting her head on Quinn's chest. The blonde's heart raced as she nuzzled into Rachel; she knew she could definitely get used to the feeling. Quinn slowly began drifting away into dreams of old friends and new chapters beginning in her life. Even in her sleep she couldn't resist smiling about her position in the universe at that moment.

Suddenly no less than forty five minutes later, Quinn and Rachel were jolted into conciseness by screaming coming from down the aisle. They jumped up and ran down the aisle, and were unsurprised to find Cassandra causing the commotion. The tall plastered blonde was standing over a bald man of average stature, slamming her fists into him furiously; though she didn't seem to be causing him any pain, he cowered in fear.

"You want a piece of this, baldy?!" Cassandra screamed as she continued hitting him, "Who are you calling a washed up psychopath now, buddy?!"

Quinn and Rachel pulled her back away from the man, but she continued swinging. One of her fists accidentally landed on Quinn's jaw. Quinn flinched, and her eyes began watering from the pain; Rachel saw red.

Rachel grabbed Cassandra and pulled her away from the man with force. "Calm down, Cassandra!" She screamed, but the blonde didn't listen and attempted to keep fighting. Rachel pulled Cassandra back to face her and slapped her across the face. Rachel flinched, afraid of what kind of pain she was in for after slapping the woman, but Cassandra didn't move a muscle.

"Are you calm now?" Rachel asked quietly.

Cassandra shook her head as her eyes began to water. She turned to stumble down the aisle to the bathroom, but the flight attendants took a grip around her and dragged her in the opposite direction as she protested sloppily. Quinn and Rachel tried to apologize to the man, but he was having none of that. "You'll all be hearing from my lawyer!" He said angrily and turned away from the girls.

A few moments later, two more flight attendants strode down the hallway and grabbed the two.

"Where do you think you're taking us?!" Rachel protested.

"Are you two with stumbles?" The sassy male flight attendant asked.

"No!" Rachel lied, "Well, kind of."

The flight attendant said no more, just dragged the both of them back toward where they hauled Cassandra.

The blonde woman was sitting between two burlier flight attendants at a booth in what had to be the world's smallest plane cabin. The flight attendants stood and Quinn and Rachel took their places besides Cassandra. The attendants began walking toward the door of the small cabin when the sassy man turned and faced the ladies. "This is where you'll be staying the last three hours of the flight," he said, "let us know if you need anything. There's a small restroom to your left. Don't screw around."

They left the girls there, locking the door behind them. Cassandra broke into hysterics the second the door was shut.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried and hid her face in her hands, "I just broke! A girl can only take so much! I know I seem like a badass all the time, and I am; but I'm still a sensitive human being with feelings! Not some cold evil dragon lady!"

Rachel looked at her, obviously concerned. "What happened?" The brunette asked sincerely.

Cassandra sniffled and shook her head in frustration. "That ass-hole," she said, "he got mad because I tripped over his wife's feet, and then he recognized me from the infamous YouTube video. He called me a washed up psychopath bitch and asked me why I hadn't just killed myself yet."

Rachel and Quinn froze in shock. "He said that to you?" Rachel said, feeling incredibly sorry for the woman.

Cassandra nodded and sobbed. "Yeah, he did."

Quinn gritted her teeth. "I am so glad that door is locked right now." She said.

"Quinn," Rachel said calmly, "fighting ignorance with violence is never a good solution."

"Well it'd certainly make me feel a whole hell of a lot better." Quinn said angrily.

"I'm so sorry, Cassandra." Rachel said and put a hand on the teachers back.

Cassandra gave a watery laugh. "Rachel you can call me Cassie, you know."

Rachel gawked. "Did you just call me Rachel?" She asked in astonishment, "I thought you really thought my name was Little Miss David God Almighty Schwimmer."

All three of the girls laughed. Quinn looked at the sloppy mess of a woman beside her and frowned. "Cassie you really need to sober up before you see Shelby. I'm not going to let you make a fool of yourself."

Cassandra rolled her eyes and planted her face on the tray on the seat in front of her. "I just want to see her, though."

"I know, I know." Quinn sat and patted the woman on the back, "Trust me, I know how it feels."

Cassandra gave Quinn a small smile and sat up again. "Fine." She said, "Where are we staying in Lima, by the way? I was just going to stay in a sleazy motel, but since we conveniently ended up on the same flight I thought maybe I could crash with you guys?"

Rachel looked at Quinn skeptically. Quinn cleared her throat. "How do you think your dads would feel about her staying with us?"

* * *

The girls stepped up to the front door and knocked three times. On the other side, a highly excited LeRoy ran to greet his daughter and company.

"Hello my beautiful, sweet girl!" He said and embraced his tiny daughter. She broke from the hug and walked inside as he greeted the other girls. "And look at you; the lovely Miss Fabray, in the flesh!" He said ecstatically and hugged her as well. Quinn followed Rachel into the house, leaving LeRoy outside with Cassandra.

"And you must be Ms. Cassandra July, whom I've heard so much about." LeRoy said and Cassandra gulped. He held out his arms to hug her as well and smiled. "Welcome to our home!" he said as he embraced her, "And may I say, you are stunning. You look like a young Goldie Hawn!"

He led the tall blonde woman into his and his husband's home and smiled proudly at the modern stylish chic décor. "This isn't what I was imagining in Lima, Ohio." She admitted.

"Well," LeRoy boasted, "we are a bit more cutting-edge and sophisticated than most folks around here, but we do love the modest town vibe rather than the bustling city."

Cassandra nodded and admired the abstract clean lines of the home, when another voice chimed in from the next room. "LeRoy! Cassandra!" the cheery male voice called, "Dinner is complete! Would you like to join the rest of us in the dining room?"

LeRoy took Cassandra's hand in a gentlemanly fashion and strode with her to the kitchen. He pulled out her chair for her, and then took his own seat. Cassandra noticed the glass of wine sitting before her, and she slid it away from her plate. "I'm sorry," she said, finally beginning to feel the effects of the other alcohol wearing off, "I shouldn't drink right now."

Both Quinn and Rachel smiled proudly at her and she winked back at them. The five enjoyed their dinner while talking animatedly about Broadway, dancing, love, and life. Quinn and Cassandra both blushed and pleaded the fifth when Hiram asked them about their love interests.

"Oh boy," LeRoy groaned as he leaned back in his seat, looking at his empty plate, "what a divine meal. Thank you, Hiram."

Hiram stood and began clearing dishes from the table. He leaned over for a split second to give his husband a quick peck on the lips. "You're very welcome, my love." He said tenderly.

Rachel smiled at her happy family and stood to help her father clear the table. While the small girl and her father retreated to the kitchen to wash the dishes, LeRoy sat at the table with the beautiful blondes.

"If I was straight, I'd feel like a very lucky man right now." He joked.

The women giggled and blushed. Hiram sat up and cleared his throat, looking at Quinn seriously now.

"Quinn," he said, "can I ask a favor of you?" Quinn furrowed her eyebrows in worry, but nodded in agreement. "I'm going to have to ask you to sleep downstairs. I hope that's okay. Cassandra will be sleeping in the guest bedroom, and I'm going to lay down the law as a parent and say that you cannot sleep in Rachel's room."

Quinn opened her mouth to protest, but the man stopped her. "No," he said and held up his hand, telling her to save her breath, "I know."

The younger blonde tilted her head. "What do you mean you know?" She asked.

"I know how you feel about her."

Quinn's eyes grew wide in shock. "You know?!" she huffed.

LeRoy laughed heartily. "I can just tell by the way you look at her, the way you smile at the little goofy things she does that drive any normal person up the wall. You look at her like she's the only thing that matters in this world, and as a father that's all I can ask for. I absolutely support your feelings, but does she?"

Quinn sighed. "She doesn't know yet."

Hiram frowned. "That's quite the debacle, is it not?"

"Should I tell her?" Quinn asked anxiously.

Hiram and Cassandra looked at each other skeptically. Cassandra shrugged, and LeRoy nodded. The man opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Rachel making a grand re-entrance.

She smiled widely and held up a bucket of popcorn. "Who's ready for a movie night?!"

* * *

After nearly an hour of debating over what movie they should watch, the family and friends finally decided on Mean Girls.

The two men cuddled on the large ottoman in the corner while the two younger girls sat comfily wedged together on the corner of the couch, leaving Cassandra to sit excluded on the other side of the couch. About a quarter of the way through the movie after having quoted every line up to that point, Rachel had to use the restroom. She snuck out of the dark room, and quickly returned. She stood back for a moment looking happily at her fathers, admiring her beautiful best friend, and then her eyes landed on Cassandra. She sat opposite Quinn on the couch awkwardly, enjoying the movie but feeling out of place.

Rachel sighed and plopped back on the couch, nearly on top of Cassandra. "Have you ever heard of personal space, Schwimmer?" Cassandra said, jokingly this time. Rachel smiled goofily at her now sober teacher and cuddled into her side.

Quinn glanced at Rachel and Cassandra and the proximity between the two and huffed. She hauled her blanket over to the other side of the couch and cuddled next to the brunette on her other side. Rachel smiled and wrapped an arm around Quinn's shoulders.

Hiram and LeRoy smiled at all three of the girls snuggled together. Then men laughed as the girls quoted the lines of the movie together.

"_Four for you Glen Coco! You go Glen Coco! …And none for Gretchen Wiener, bye!"_

When the movie ended, the group went their separate directions while Quinn stayed downstairs on the couch. She tossed and turned in the dark unfamiliar space, dreading what she would have to do the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

"Seriously you guys," Brittany protested, "why are we in glee club on a Saturday? Did someone get shot?"

"No," Will clarified as the students, minus Kitty, settled and took their seats, "we're here to talk about the importance of having a support system. Glee club is like a family, and when one of our members gets pushed down we pick them right back up."

"I got pushed down in kindergarten once." Brittany muttered, "I got a skinned knee and my mom had to come pick me up from school early. Is it kinda like that?"

The others looked at her skeptically. "Uh…" Will stalled, "Yeah Brittany. Kinda like that. Anyway, as most of you already know Kitty has been kicked out of her home. Brittany has kindly offered to let Kitty live with her, but it's going to take more than a roof over her head to make Kitty feel as accepted as possible at McKinley. You all know how the rumor mill here works, and how quickly one small thing that makes you different can make you a target. I want you each to pick a song that keeps your spirits up when times get tough, you can pair up for duets or trios if you'd like. I'll let you all go your separate ways, then we'll recoup in the theater at six o'clock tonight to perform for Kitty. Then after the performance we'll carpool to Breadstix for dinner on me."

The kids cheered and hollered, excited for the free food, except Marley. "Wait, Mr. Schuester." She said skeptically, "Where is Kitty? I haven't seen her since she got your call this morning."

Will smiled. "She's talking to someone who might be able to help her through this situation."

* * *

Quinn reveled in the familiar scents and sights as she sat in the corner of the Lima Bean alone, stirring the straw in her iced caramel mocha. She glanced out the window and saw the younger Cheerios just like her former high school self; perfectly manicured nails and flawless high pony, steam cleaned uniform, impeccably whitened teeth, and smooth fake-tanned skin. She couldn't help but feel proud of herself and how far she'd come. She'd gone from Cheerio clone, to homeless pregnant teen; from borderline bat shit crazy, to temporary paraplegic. _Now look at me! _She thought.

Just as she considered how far she'd come, Quinn's past quickly sprung to life in front of her and walked through the door. Her curled high pony bounced as Kitty strode towards the counter to order her drink. Quinn watched as the other blonde waited for her coffee to be made and shook her head. Kitty snapped at the barista about something irrelevant as he handed her the drink. She turned towards Quinn and smirked as she made her way towards the table.

"Iced caramel mocha," Kitty said as she sat and looked at Quinn's identical drink, "Mr. Schue wasn't kidding, we are just alike. Only I think I dress a lot better than you do when I'm not in uniform."

Quinn smirked. "Cut the crap," she said, "I know you. You might think I don't know you at all but I know exactly who you are and how you work."

"Oh really," Kitty said skeptically, "and how's that."

"Because I used to be you." Quinn said. "I used to be the head bitch; captain of the Cheerios, all the boys wanted me, and all the girls wanted to be me."

"Sounds about right." Kitty said.

"Well," she said, "when I got pregnant and my parents kicked me out everything started to fall apart. I was the laughing stock of the whole school. Hell, I was the laughing stock of this whole town. Everyone knew who I was and what I did and they all had something to say about it."

"Yeah well I don't care what people say about me." Kitty said and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"That's what I thought, too." Quinn said, "But even tough bitches like us can only take so much."

Kitty huffed and took another sip of her coffee. "What's the point of all this?" She asked, "To remind me how shitty my life is going to be from now on? I get it; people are going to hate me. Well guess what, people already hate me and I don't care."

"No," Quinn said and scooted closer to Kitty, putting a comforting hand on her knee, "I'm telling you all this because that's the cold hard truth. The reason I'm here talking to you about all this is because you have people who care about you. People who care enough about you to fly me here to talk to you about these things. I was too stupid in high school to realize how many people I had around me who loved me. I didn't need my family when I got kicked out, I didn't need my baby after she got adopted, I didn't need a bad hair day and a stupid tattoo to feel better about myself; all I needed was glee club and the people here at McKinley who loved and cared about me, but I was too young and stubborn to realize it. I don't know you, but I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I don't want anyone to make those mistakes. The moral of the story is you need to stop pushing people away because you think you're too good or too bad ass to need their help. Let them help you, because if you don't you'll regret it later."

Kitty was silent as she considered what Quinn was saying. She had been pushing people away who were only trying to help her. Even when Brittany offered to help she unpack her things as she moved into the guest bedroom of her house, Kitty pushed her away and told her to give her space. When she was crying during Cheerio's practice the night before and Coach Sylvester asked her what was wrong, Kitty told her to mind her own business. Maybe she needed to let these people in, but she didn't want to feel like she was relying on them when in an instant they could turn on her just like her family did. "I just don't want to get hurt anymore." Kitty finally said quietly.

Quinn took Kitty's hand. "And you won't." She said, "You've got all these amazing things going for you and all these special people who care a lot about you and would never hurt you, like Marley."

Kitty smiled and her heart melted as she thought of her sweet girlfriend. "She would never hurt me." Kitty said confidently, "You're right."

Quinn chuckled. "I try."

Kitty stirred her drink mindlessly and smirked. "So I hear you've got a smokin' hot brunette, too."

Quinn's eyes grew huge and she almost choked on her coffee. "What?!" She asked frantically, "How do you know about me and Rachel?"

"I thought everyone knew." Kitty said, slightly confused. "I thought that's why they brought you here to talk to me, because you'd been kicked out and because you have a girlfriend, too. That's what I've heard from everyone."

"Who's everyone?!" Quinn asked seriously.

"Well, mostly Brittany." Kitty said, "But everyone else in Glee club is pretty convinced, too."

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "I am not dating Rachel."

"But you are in love with her." Kitty said plainly. Quinn didn't speak. "Does she know?"

Quinn shook her head. "No," she said, "it's not worth ruining our friendship if she doesn't feel the same way."

Kitty chuckled. "Oh come on," she said, "you'll never even know how she feels until you tell her."

"But what if I tell her and she doesn't feel the same?" Quinn asked desperately, "You don't understand how horribly wrong it could go, you got lucky."

"Seriously?" Kitty said, "How badly could it end?"

* * *

Shelby quietly walked to the door with Beth in her arms sleeping silently. She was expecting anyone but the person standing on her porch nervously. Cassandra stood fixing her hair anxiously in her compact mirror when the door opened. She jumped excitedly and tossed the mirror back into her purse. Cassandra lost her breath as she took in the sight of the girl of her dreams holding her beautiful child.

"Hi." Shelby said quietly, tears filling her eyes.

"Hi." Cassandra said and chuckled nervously.

"Come in!" Shelby said, using her free hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks quickly. Cassandra followed her into the apartment where she set Beth down in her small crib in the corner of the living room. Shelby returned to Cassandra, hands now free, and gave her a hug.

Cassandra's tears finally fell free as she squeezed Shelby back. "I've missed you." She said honestly.

"I've missed you, too." Shelby said.

Cassandra pulled away. "Then how come you never called back?" She asked, "Why did you disappear?"

"I didn't disappear!" Shelby argued, "I saw you once after you told me how you felt about me."

"Yeah," Cassandra said, "only once, twelve years ago. And you barley said five words to me."

Shelby huffed. "You caught me on the way to a job interview!" she said, "Did you expect me to stop, drop everything I was doing, and tell you everything I'd done in the six years it'd been since you'd last seen me?" Cassandra was silent. "I told you to wait for me, I told you I'd meet you at the café at the end of the block after my interview was over and you never showed up. I waited for you at that café for three hours after my interview; I wanted to talk to you. I needed to talk to you!"

Cassandra shook her head. "I didn't come here to argue with you about the past." She said, "I don't need this right now on top of all the other shit I'm going through."

Shelby grabbed her arm and stopped her. "You're not going anywhere, Cassie." She said, "You're here now and you're not leaving until we have an adult conversation about this."

Cassandra sighed. "Fine!" She said and pulled her arm away from Shelby. She tossed her purse on the couch and sat down. "You wanna do this? Let's do this."

Shelby groaned and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Same old stubborn Cassie." She mumbled.

"What was that?" Cassie smirked and asked.

"Nothing!" Shelby said in her sweetest fake voice as she walked back into the living room. She handed Cassandra a glass and filled them both up half way.

"So," Cassandra began, "where to begin this conversation."

"Let's start from the beginning." Shelby said.

"Where's that?" Cassandra asked.

"When I left." Shelby said. Cassandra looked away dejectedly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think of that as the beginning," Cassandra said, "I think of that as the end."

Shelby suddenly felt guilty, she felt the weight of twelve years and unspoken words on her chest and she couldn't contain it any longer. "I'm kind of overwhelmed." She admitted, "There's so much I could say."

"Start 18 years ago," Cassandra said, "what did you do when you left?"

Shelby sighed. "I came here." She said, "I came to Lima because I thought it was so different from the big city that it wouldn't remind me of you. I was wrong, and it reminded me of you every day anyway. I got a job as a surrogate for Rachel's fathers. They treated me like gold, it was the first time I'd ever really felt like I was a part of something really special; but when Rachel was born my job was over. I was out of the picture and they just wanted to be happy with their baby girl, without me. I went a little crazy between missing you and missing my little girl. I don't even remember a lot of that time in my life; I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and drifting between odd jobs and different men. Finally about twelve years ago exactly I got my act together and moved back to New York, there was a job opening as an assistant director of a small theater group. I was on my way to that job interview that day I saw you. I didn't get the job, I think partially because I was so nervous about seeing you. I went back to that café and waited for hours but you never showed. I waited around long enough that the owner offered me a job. I accepted, and I spent about 7 years working there barely making minimum wage. One day I got a call from a high school glee club director here in Lima; he was looking to retire and needed a replacement. I dropped everything and came back here; I came back for the job and Rachel, but mostly to get away from all the memories of us in the city. The job was a dream come true, I lead that glee club to more victories than it'd ever had before. After a few years of being the coach, I was just getting comfortable and happy in my place in the universe and out of the blue at a competition I see Rachel up on stage belting out Don't Rain on My Parade. It was the happiest moment of my life, but at the same time it was the saddest because she didn't even know who I was or how proud I was of her. I knew I had to meet her; I needed her to know who I was and how much she meant to me. So, I snuck my way into her life and I broke down. She needed a mother and I wasn't ready to be a mother to a teenager I didn't even know. I messed her up; she needed me more than I needed her. I still wanted a daughter though, and Quinn Fabray happened to be pregnant at the time and was looking to put her daughter up for adoption. That's how I got Beth, and I couldn't be happier. That's really all my life has been since then, being a working mom."

Cassandra silently mulled over all that Shelby had said. "I didn't realize how much I messed you up," she admitted, "I always thought I was the only one getting hurt."

"I don't hurt anymore." Shelby said, "I haven't been hurting for four years now. One night it just hit me, I said to myself _you don't need this, you deserve to be happy. _I woke up the next morning and I was happy. I didn't regret the past, and I didn't hate myself; I just thought of all the stupid things I'd done and everything that I missed as life experience."

"I wish I was smart enough to do that." Cassandra said.

"I wouldn't call it smart," Shelby said, "I'd say it's practical." Cassandra looked down at her empty wine glass and sighed. Shelby smiled and poured her another glass. "What about you?" she asked, "What adventures have you had in these past 18 years?"

Cassandra laughed and took a sip of wine. "Well I'm sure you've seen the infamous YouTube video."

Shelby giggled. "Yes, yes I have."

"That was the first show I was in after you left." Cassandra said, "I was beyond drunk, and on antidepressants. It was a mess. I don't even remember most of those six years before I saw you again. When I saw you that day twelve years ago, it was a wakeup call. You were on your way to a job interview and I didn't have a job, I was sleeping with a sleazy landlord because I couldn't afford to pay rent. I was so embarrassed; I couldn't face you again in the state I was in. I knew I needed to get my act together before I could try to be your friend again. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and I decided to find an outlet for all my feelings. I tried getting back into acting but I couldn't find work because everyone had seen the video of my breakdown. Finally I heard that NYADA was looking for a teacher for their dance department. I didn't have my teaching credentials but they made an exception because of my performance background and my theater-dance double major. I've been teaching there for eleven years now; I've been making my students lives hell on earth, I've become a raging alcoholic, and I couldn't be more miserable and lonely."

"You might be lonely, but you're never alone." Shelby said, "Remember our second year in college when that fat bald ass-hole was hitting on you and I told him I was your girlfriend and he needed to back off?"

Cassandra laughed. "Yes, how could I forget?"

"And remember how we went back to your dorm after that and cuddled all night long? I told you I loved you and I would never stop loving you because you were my best friend."

"I remember."

"I wasn't lying." Shelby said honestly, "I never stopped loving you. Even if it wasn't in the same way you loved me."

"I never stopped loving you, either." Cassandra said, "I just wish we were on the same page."

"Me too." Shelby said. Cassandra cocked an eyebrow skeptically. "What?" Shelby said defensively, "You think my life wouldn't be easier if I could just tell you I love you and fall into your arms and live happily ever after? I've thought about it Cassie, trust me."

Cassandra gulped. "And what did you think about it?"

Shelby looked down at her hands. "I think I'm lonely too." The brunette finally felt the effects of her second glass of wine kicking in and she blushed.

Cassandra's heart raced but she couldn't stop her thoughts and urges. She wrapped an arm around Shelby's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Shelby batted her eyes and turned towards Cassandra. She finished off the last of her glass of wine and pressed her lips to Cassandra's.

Cassandra slowly pulled away. "Are you sure?" She asked nervously.

Shelby chuckled. "I hope so," she said, "I've had 18 years to think about it."


	9. Chapter 9

Marley was pacing the hall outside the theater when she heard the click of heels approaching her. She turned to face the unfamiliar face and smiled nervously at the shorter brunette.

"Hi," Rachel said as she closed the distance between herself and the girl, "you must be Marley. My name's Rachel, I've heard a lot about you." Rachel held out a hand for Marley to shake.

Marley took the hand and looked at Rachel in awe. "You're Rachel?" She asked, "Like as in Rachel Berry?" Rachel nodded. "I've heard a lot about you!"

Rachel laughed. "I should have known," she said, "so much for introductions!"

Marley laughed. "Everyone knows everyone's business around her," she said, "I learned that very quickly."

"You're a fast learner," Rachel said, "that's good."

Marley shook her head and chuckled. "I can't believe everyone's been comparing me to you," she said, "you're absolutely beautiful."

Rachel blushed. "Well thank you." She said bashfully, "You are very pretty yourself, and I hear you have quite the voice. I'm excited to hear you sing tonight."

Marley cringed. "I'm so nervous about this song I'm singing for Kitty." She admitted, "I just hope I don't screw it up or barf all over the place or forget the words."

"You'll be amazing." Rachel said and smiled. Just then, her phone started buzzing from inside her purse. She pulled it out, looked at the screen and smiled brightly. "I've gotta take this." She whispered to Marley.

"Hi Quinn!" she answered.

"Is everyone there?" Quinn asked on the other end.

Rachel glanced through double doors into the theater and saw the whole glee club assembled neatly, smiling and talking amongst themselves. "Yes!"

"Good!" Quinn said, "I'm right outside the school with Kitty, we'll be right in."

"Okay, thanks for the update!" Rachel said, "I love you!"

"Love you too, Rachel." Quinn said, "See you soon."

Rachel ended the call and stuffed the phone back in her purse. Marley looked at her nervously. "Are you ready to sing?"

Marley took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Rachel smiled, patted the girl on the back, and slowly started making her way into the theater. "You're going to be fantastic, I know it."

"Well look who it is!" Mr. Schue said ecstatically as he saw Rachel. He gave her a big hug and Rachel laughed.

"Mr. Schue it's so good to see you." She said as she hugged the man.

"Good to see you too, Rachel." He said as he broke the embrace, "I'm glad you and Quinn could make it."

"We wouldn't have passed up the chance in a million years."

"Well you guys," Will said to the students, "Quinn and Kitty should be here any minute now and I'm sure whatever you put together today will be excellent."

Rachel took a seat between Tina and Marley in the front row and smiled, anticipating the arrival of her favorite blonde. As much as she loved seeing her dads and her old friends, she couldn't wait to be back in New York. She was excited to see more of Quinn, and she was even excited for dance class because of her newly found blossoming friendship with Cassandra.

Rachel's smile practically lit the room when Quinn finally arrived, the smaller blonde in tow. "Hi everyone!" Quinn said sweetly.

The older members of the glee club jumped to greet Quinn with hugs and hellos. After being bombarded, Quinn took a seat beside Rachel and the students settled.

Kitty looked confused as she took a seat in the middle of the large room. "What's this all for?"

Will smiled. "We all wanted to take an opportunity to show our appreciation for you, and share with you some songs that cheer us up when we're down. Would anyone like to go first?"

Marley looked around nervously, afraid of going first. Luckily, Blaine and Artie raised their hands first. The two boys made their way to the center of the stage and smiled charmingly. "Kitty," Artie said, "I know we've only known you for a few months and you've done nothing but make our lives a living hell until a few days ago, but glee club is like a family and it doesn't matter what your role in this family is, we all take care of each other. So, this one's for you."

The intro of the familiar Maroon 5 song rang out through the big room; Kitty smiled and laced her fingers between Marley's.

"I'm afraid that I gotta do what I gotta do

But if I let you go, where you gonna go?

We gotta make a change, time to turn the page

Something isn't right, I don't wanna fight you

We've been through tougher times, you know it gets worse

We can turn this around please let me be first

And as I feel your tears spilling on my shirt

Something isn't right I don't wanna fight you.

Hey you, come over and let me embrace you

I know that I'm causing you pain too

But remember if you need to cry

I'm here to wipe your eyes."

The boys danced and wheeled around the stage with their boy-band charm, and the girls went crazy.

"Tonight before you fall asleep

I run my thumb across your cheek (across your cheek)

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes

I know I made you feel this way

You gotta breathe, we'll be okay (be okay)

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes

When did we cross the line?

How could we forget?

Why do we let the pressure get into our heads?

Your broken heart requires all of my attention

'cause something isn't right, I don't wanna fight you

Hey you, come over and let me embrace you

I know that I'm causing you pain too

But remember if you need to cry

I'm here to wipe your eyes."

Marley reached across her seat and kissed Kitty on the cheek where a tear was slowly dripping its way down to the blondes chin.

"Tonight before you fall asleep

I run my thumb across your cheek

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes

I know I made you feel this way

You gotta breathe, we'll be okay

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes

Please don't lose your faith

Don't worry 'cause I'm here to keep you safe

I promise if you let me see your face

That I won't let you down

I won't let you down

I'm here to wipe your eyes

Tonight before you fall asleep

I run my thumb across your cheek

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes

I know I made you feel this way

You gotta breathe, we'll be okay

Cry 'cause I'm here to wipe your eyes."

The room filled with cheers and applause as the boys exited the stage and took their seats once again. Tina made her way up to the stage next. After a rendition of Pink's Glitter in the Air by Tina, Sam's cover of Where the Green Grass Grows by Tim McGraw, Brittany's version of Wherever You Are by Ke$ha, and a comical execution of 22 by Taylor Swift by Ryder and Jake, Marley nervously stood up and walked to the stage. She stood under the bright lights anxiously, quietly nodded to the band, and began to sing.

"Looking up from underneath

Fractured moonlight on the sea

Reflections still look the same to me

As before I went under

And it's peaceful in the deep

Cathedral where you cannot breathe

No need to pray, no need to speak

Now I am under all

And it's breaking over me

A thousand miles down to the sea bed

Found the place to rest my head."

Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go."

Kitty got goose bumps as she watched her girlfriend sing, her eyes glued to the brunette on the stage.

"And the arms of the ocean are carrying me

And all this devotion was rushing out of me

In the crushes of heaven for a sinner like me

But the arms of the ocean delivered me

Though the pressure's hard to take

It's the only way I can escape

It seems a heavy choice to make

And now I am under all

And it's breaking over me

A thousand miles down to the sea bed

Found the place to rest my head

Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go."

Rachel quietly tilted her head to let it rest on Quinn's shoulder. The blonde's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel smiled and continued watching the younger version of herself own the stage.

"And the arms of the ocean are carrying me

And all this devotion was rushing out of me

In the crushes of heaven for a sinner like me

But the arms of the ocean delivered me

And it's over

And I'm going under

But I'm not giving up

I'm just giving in

I'm slipping underneath

So cold and so sweet

And the arms of the ocean so sweet and so cold

And all this devotion I never knew at all

In the crushes of heaven for a sinner released

And the arms of the ocean delivered me

Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go

Deliver me."

Marley let the tears stream down her cheeks as she nervously smiled and continued singing. Kitty shook the shivers from her body, slowly stood, and walked to the stage. She stepped up onto the stage to join her girlfriend and started singing along.

"Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go

Deliver me

Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go

Deliver me

Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, never let me go

And it's over

And I'm going under

But I'm not giving up

I'm just giving in

I'm slipping underneath

So cold and so sweet

Never let me go, never let me go."

Kitty quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks as the small audience roared. The blonde threw her arms around her girlfriend and held her tight.

"I love you." Marley said as she held Kitty back.

"I'll never let you go."

The girls broke apart and smiled, still standing under the bright stage lights.

"Well," Mr. Schuester said, "who's hungry for Breadstix?!"


	10. Chapter 10

"It was really nice of your babysitter to watch Beth at the last moment." Cassandra said as she sipped her Shirley temple and let her eyes rake the brunette in front of her.

Shelby blushed and nibbled on a breadstick. "Yeah, well, she owes me." She said, "I helped her nail her audition for the lead in a local theater production of Wicked."

Cassandra reached across the table and laced her fingers between Shelby's. Shelby hesitated at first, but then gave in. "This feels nice." The blonde said quietly.

Shelby smiled devilishly. "Not as nice as that one thing we did earlier-"

"Shhhh!" Cassandra hushed her, but couldn't help but smile at the memory. Shelby rolled her eyes playfully and squeezed Cassandra's hand.

"So," the brunette said thoughtfully, "when are you going to go back to New York?"

Cassandra flinched; she'd been hoping to avoid the topic all night. "I don't know." She said honestly, "I mean this," she gestured towards their interlaced fingers, "this changes everything."

"I know," Shelby rubbed reassuring circles on the back of the blondes hand with her thumb, "it really does. I never thought in a thousand years that you would show up at my door; let alone that I would let you in and do the things we did."

Cassandra smirked. "Those things were pretty fun, though."

"They were." Shelby agreed and laughed. "I don't know where this is going; you know, us," she said, "but until we figure it out you're welcome to stay with me."

Cassandra's heart jumped at the offer, and she knew she couldn't refuse. "What about Beth?" she asked.

Shelby smiled. "She's a tough girl," she said, "she's used to adjusting. And besides, I think you two will get along great. You've already got the blonde bond."

Cassandra chuckled. "Well, that is true."

Both women turned when the restaurant suddenly got louder. A whole group of familiar faces rushed towards them and they both hung their heads, hoping to avoid being noticed. They weren't that fortunate.

"Mom?" Rachel said as she approached the table and looked at the two women, "Cassandra? Did you two work things out."

Cassandra slid her hand away from Shelby's sheepishly. The brunette cleared her throat. "Yes," she said, "we did, actually."

Rachel cocked her head suspiciously. Quinn joined Rachel's side and smiled at the tiny brunette. Rachel smiled back and forgot all about the two women in front of them.

"Would you like to find a table, my dear?" Quinn said and held out a hand for Rachel to take.

Rachel gladly took in and followed Quinn across the restaurant.

"Oh man," Shelby said and buried her face in her hands, "Rachel doesn't know yet, does she?"

Cassandra shook her head. "Nope," she said, "I don't think she has any idea."

"I hope she tells her soon." Shelby said.

Cassandra sighed and looked over at the two happy girls, but she could plainly see the torture in Quinn's eyes. "I hope so too."

Kitty sat between Marley and Brittany at a table with the rest of the glee kids in the center of the restaurant. She quickly shot a text under the table to Quinn. Across the room, Quinn's phone buzzed against the wooden table. She discreetly read the little screen and nodded to Kitty.

The younger blonde stood and walked to the small stage in the corner of the restaurant with Quinn following soon after. Rachel, Marley, and the rest looked confused as the two prepared microphones and stands for an impromptu performance.

Quinn tapped on the microphone, quickly testing its volume. "Hi everyone," she said sweetly, "my name is Quinn Fabray."

"And my name is Kitty Wilde." Kitty added, "We've prepared a song to sing for you all tonight. It's a song that reminds us of two very special people in our lives. My inspiration is my girlfriend, Marley Rose."

"And my inspiration," Quinn said, "is my best friend, Rachel Berry."

"So," Kitty said and hit play on the small stereo system, "this is for you two."

Marley's heart melted as she stared at the two blondes, so honestly professing their love; Rachel on the other hand was flustered and confused.

"I've seen your face a thousand times

Have all your stories memorized

I've kissed your lips a million ways

But I still love to have you around

I've held you too many times to count

I think I know you inside out

And we're together most days

But I still love to have you around."

Marley giggled and danced around the table with the rest of the glee club kids. Shelby and Cassandra smiled lovingly at each other, their hands reaching across the table to clasp one another. Rachel, sitting silently on her own trying to understand what was happening in Quinn's head, happened to catch the gesture between the older women. She glanced over just as Shelby pulled Cassandra's hands to her mouth, giving her a quick chivalrous peck on the wrist. Rachel's jaw dropped. _What is going on here? _She thought. She thought her mother and Shelby hated each other! She looked back to the stage, where Quinn was now standing solo as Kitty sang to Marley from her side at the table.

"You're the one I want and it's not just phase

You're the one I trust, our love is the real thing

Don't go away

My love, my love

I want you to stay, in my life

Don't go away

My lover, my love

I'm happiest when we spend time."

Quinn looked past Rachel's eyes and into her soul as she sang to her from across the room; and that's when it hit her. Rachel's jaw dropped as she realized the implications of Quinn's words; she realized how Quinn really felt about her, she suddenly remembered all of the subtle hints Quinn had been giving her all these years, and she realized that anyone else could have seen it from a mile away.

"You're a salty water ocean wave

You knock me down, you kiss my face

I know the storms will always come

But I still love to have you around

Heaven knows what will come next

So emotional, you're so complex

A rollercoaster built to crash

But I still love to have you around."

Rachel tried to contain herself, as she was on the verge of a meltdown. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest as she sat alone at the small booth in the corner of the restaurant. She clung to the table for dear life, as she felt like she could pass out at any given moment; she had to continuously remind herself to breathe.

"You're the one I want and it's not just phase

You're the one I trust, our love is the real thing

Don't go away

My love, my love

I want you to stay, in my life

Don't go away

My lover, my love

I'm happiest when we spend time, it's only you and I

It's you there when I close my eyes

And you in the morning

I never thought you'd still be mine

Or I'd really need to have you around

Don't go away

My love, my love

I want you to stay, in my life

Don't go away

My lover, my love

I need you, you're my love supply."

Kitty rejoined Quinn on the stage as the song ended. The girls took a quick bow as the restaurant burst into applause. Marley ran to Kitty and threw her arms around the girl; Kitty kissed her girlfriend on the cheek and smiled at her radiantly.

Rachel quickly put on her coat, picked up her purse, and fled for the door. Shelby and Cassandra frowned, signaling Quinn to follow her. Quinn's heart sank and she ran after the little brunette.

She caught up to Rachel in the parking lot of the restaurant; the freezing cold hit her already shivering body as she reached out to grab Rachel's hand.

"Rachel what's going on?" Quinn asked frantically.

Rachel whipped around, her eyes full of tears. "Why don't you tell me, Quinn?" She asked harshly, "Because I have no idea what the hell is going on around here! Would you like to tell me what's going on between Cassandra and Shelby? Or would you rather explain your feelings for me first?"

Quinn's head spun. "I'm so sorry Rachel-"

"Why didn't you tell me about this YEARS ago?" Rachel asked sharply, "Why am I only finding out about this NOW? This is something you should have told me so long ago; it's something you should have told me personally, not in front of a whole restaurant full of people. I mean, you didn't actually say it but I felt it; everyone felt it."

Quinn shook her head. "Rachel," she began as she started getting choked up, "you're the queen of grand gestures. I thought you would love the song; I thought you would come running into my arms just like Marley did to Kitty."

"This isn't high school anymore, Quinn." Rachel snapped, "This is real life and these feelings are real and they really hurt; I can't believe you've been keeping this from me for so long. I feel like I'm going to be sick."

Quinn hung her head and covered her face, afraid to let Rachel see her cry as she searched for the right words to say; but the right words never found her. Rachel slowly walked away and made her way to her car as the rain started to pour. Quinn walked back towards the restaurant feeling lost. At some point during the argument, Shelby and Cassandra had made their way out to watch the scene. Quinn stood in front of the women; her face buried her hands as she sobbed.

Cassandra shook her head and wrapped her arms around the younger girl sympathetically. Shelby gritted her teeth and started walking towards the parking lot.

"Shelby!" Cassandra called after her love, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go tell my daughter to pull her head out of her ass so she doesn't make the same miserable mistake I made 18 years ago!" Shelby said. She practically ran through the parking lot to find Rachel sitting in her car, alone in the dark. Shelby tapped on the passenger's side window. Rachel's head popped up, cheeks and eyes red and puffy. The doors unlocked with a quick click and Shelby opened the door, joining her daughter in the warm car.

"So," Shelby began awkwardly after a moment of silence, "what the hell are you doing to yourself."

Rachel looked up and gave the older woman a harsh look. "What do you mean what am I doing to myself?" She asked, "Don't you mean what the hell is Quinn doing to me? What is she doing to us? She's going to ruin everything!"

Shelby chuckled. "Yeah," she said, "I thought the same thing."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked quietly.

"I mean Cassandra; I thought she would ruin everything too." Shelby explained, "I thought that it was all her fault when my world fell apart. Truth is it was my own damn fault. I was just like you."

"What is going on with you two?" Rachel asked.

"Exactly what's happening to you and Quinn." She said, "About 18 years ago, when I was in college in New York. Cassandra and I were best friends, and I was convinced that nothing could ever pull us apart. One day she admitted that she was in love with me and I made the biggest mistake of my life."

"What?"

"I ran." Shelby said and sighed, "I ran from Cassandra, the city, my whole life. I moved to Lima, I needed money and your dads needed a surrogate; I guess you're the one good beautiful thing that came out of me running away. But the point is, I knew exactly how I felt 18 years ago and it took me until now to get Cassandra back. I loved her from the day she told me and I just couldn't admit it to myself because I was too afraid and too conflicted. Don't make the mistakes I did, I can see it in your eyes how much you love Quinn; don't let her go."

Rachel hung her head. "I don't know how to feel." She admitted, "I love her, but I've never loved her as more than a best friend before; I mean, we've never even got drunk and kissed like most best friends do in college. My heart hurts."

Shelby frowned and wrapped an arm around her daughter. Rachel snuggled into her mom's side and let out the last of her tears. Both women jumped when they heard a tap on the window. Cassandra stood in the rain by the driver's side window. Rachel rolled down the window and Cassandra stuck her head in.

"Quinn's inside now," she said, "we had a talk and she's feeling a little bit better; but I really think she'd feel a lot better if you joined her, Rachel."

Rachel sat up and attempted to fix her make-up and hair in the rearview mirror.

"Are you okay?" Shelby asked sincerely, "Are you ready for this?"

Rachel smiled surely. "I think so."


	11. The End

Shelby, Cassandra, and Rachel rejoined the rest of the group inside Breadstix moments later. Quinn glanced up at Rachel and then looked down at her plate just as fast. Rachel took a deep breath and took a seat in the empty chair next to Quinn.

"Hi." She said to Quinn. The blonde's head still hung over her plate and she didn't look up to meet Rachel's eyes.

"Hi." She said, still avoiding the brunette's eyes.

Rachel reached under the table and grabbed Quinn's hand, slowly but surely lacing their fingers together. "Please Rachel," Quinn said, "you don't have to do this for me. You can go sit with someone else; you don't have to make me feel better about this."

"I'm not doing this for you." Rachel said, "I'm doing this for us."

"What do you mean us?" Quinn said, finally looking up into Rachel's eyes.

"I mean _us_," Rachel said, squeezing Quinn's hand under the table, "as a couple."

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "But I thought just ten minutes ago you hated me for telling you how I felt?"

Rachel shook her head. "I would never hate you." She said, "I was just in shock. I love you Quinn, I just never thought I'd get the chance to love you in this way. I don't know where this is going between us, but I don't want it to stop. I don't want to lose my best friend."

Quinn frowned and hung her head again, dreading the friend zone. Rachel nudged Quinn's chin and tilted her face up towards hers. "I think you're beautiful, you know." The brunette said, "Some days I just look into your eyes and think about how lucky I am to have someone like you in my life. If that's not the kind of love you're looking for then I guess I can't help you, but I can promise I'll love you as much as I possibly can."

Quinn pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "You promise?"

Rachel nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Well then," Quinn said, "I guess I'll let you be my girlfriend."

Rachel shook her head and pressed her lips against Quinn's. The room filled with "ooh's" and "aw's" as the glee kids watched the make out session. Rachel pulled away from the kiss slowly and smiled.

"Yeah," she said, "I guess I could get used to being your girlfriend."

* * *

**_2 years later_**

"Shelby!" Cassandra yelled as she walked in the door, "Mail for you!"

"I'm in the kitchen!" Shelby yelled back. Cassandra followed her voice into the spacious kitchen where she was preparing mac n cheese for Beth's lunch.

"Hi boo-boo!" Cassandra said to Beth as she kissed the little blonde girl on the forehead.

"Hi CC!" Beth said back and continued bouncing around the kitchen, "How was school?"

Cassandra smiled and shook her head. Beth always referred to hers and Shelby's jobs as 'school' since they worked at McKinley. The living situation between the two women became permanent after that first date. Cassandra quit her job at NYADA and traded it for a job as McKinley's dance teacher; she was the only woman who could make the students cry more than Sue Sylvester. Shelby took Emma's place as school councilor when her and Will finally tied the knot and were blessed with their first baby boy. Beth adjusted well and too to Cassandra like a second mother.

Cassandra plopped onto one of the bar stools across the counter from her lovely lady. She picked Beth up and set her on her lap. "My day at school was wonderful, boo-boo."

Shelby took the mail out of Cassandra's hand and shuffled the envelopes. "Bills, bills, ads, more bills." She said as she read the front of the letters, "What's this?" She pulled one of the envelopes out of the stack. The paper was thick and rosy colored, and the calligraphy written on the front was addressed to 'Miss Shelby Corcoran, Miss Cassandra July, and Miss Beth Corcoran.'

Cassandra looked curiously as Shelby slid the little invitation out of the fancy envelope. "What is it?"

Shelby gasped as she looked at the beautiful couple in the photo; underneath the photo written in extravagant lettering- _'Save the date.'_

"Shelby, what's going on?" Cassandra asked frantically as she tried to see the paper over Beth's little blonde head.

The brunette smiled and shook her head. "Quinn and Rachel are getting married."


End file.
